


Eyesh

by FoxxyGoddess



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:05:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4757546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxxyGoddess/pseuds/FoxxyGoddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU but follows the original storyline for the most part. pairings not set in stone, other than Sena/Hiruma.  also Fem!Sena. slight rewrite and reformat of chapter size from cross posting on fanfiction.net under same name<br/><b>Disclaimer:</b> I don't Eyeshield 21, I'm just borrowing the players for a bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Girl With The Golden Legs

**Author's Note:**

> ' _thoughts_ '/ " **Sena's male voice** "  
> *sound effects*  
> [ _ANNOUNCER_ / _P.A. System_ ]  
> ~ **Time Skip/Scene Change** ~

~*~

 

**FOOTBALL. The factors that control the battle are POWER! STRATEGY! and...**

**SPEED!!!**

 

~*~

 

As Sena walked down the stairs, she raked her fingers through her unruly brown hair pulling it into a low ponytail. Checking her watch as she stepped out her front door, Sena saw that if she ran she'd make it on time. Turning in the right direction she took off, a dust trail in her wake.

Stopping with a screech, Sena stood before the entrance to Deimon High. Looking back the way she came then around, she spotted Mamori over by the bulletin wall.

"Sena, over here!" Mamori shouted, waving her arm, causing her scarf to sway at her sides. Walking over, Sena told Mamori she was positive she made it as they searched for her name on the wall.

"There it is! There’s Sena Kobayakawa!" Mamori pointed at the name, jumping for joy as Sena stood speechless with a smile spreading across her face.

"Well, well... Sena's going to be my underclassmen. I'm so glad for you. Oh, wait right here, I'll go get your Information Packet," she rushed off before Sena could speak a word.

Suddenly a dark aura appeared behind Sena, before she could think she was tossed into the air. There was a shout of _Congratulations!_

' _wow, this is so cool_ ' she thought as the people who had lifted her set her down.

Looking up she saw a gorgeous blonde with green eyes smile kindly at her.

"Hey! Call your parents to tell them you got in!" the blonde said as he held out a cell phone to her.

"Are you sure it's ok for me to use this?" Sena asked as she shifted the phone in her hands.

"Sure."

' _cool, this place has nice upperclassmen_ ' Sena thought not noticing the evil smirk the blonde was wearing. "Uh, Aunt Mihae? I pass-" the phone was yanked from her hands, the blonde and his friend running off. ' _that was weird?_ '

**~several hours later~**

Sena waved goodbye to Mamori. Passing through the gate, she noticed that the mailbox was full. Nearly 50 flyers for the football team was crammed inside.

Carrying them inside, she heard the phone ring. Picking it up while still holding the flyers, she heard a aloud voice. "YA-HA!! JOIN THE FOOTBALL TEAM! POWER, SPEED, AND STRATEGY! THE TRIPLE FOUNDATION OF THE ULTIMATE BATTLE SPORT!! GO OUT FOR THE FOOTBALL TEAM! JOIN US, DARN IT!!"

Hanging up the phone, Sena rushed up the stairs to her room so as not to answer the phone should they call again. Which they did, as well as stuff more flyers into the mailbox.

"There's more," Sena's Aunt said as she handed the other flyers over.

"What's going on!?" Sena cried as she was almost buried underneath it all.

**~*~**

Sena stood before the bathroom mirror, looking at herself in her new Deimon High uniform. The baggy coat reached passed her waist, the sleeves touched the tops of her hands.

' _"I'm sure you'll grow into it, so I got you the bigger size." Mamori had said. what was she thinking?_ '

"Oh! I almost forgot my cell. After all, it is a present for making it into this school," she held it up with a smile, "I feel so mature." Playing with her new cell, Sena looked at the two names in the contact list. Mamori and Mei. ' _i need some friends_ ' she sighed.

It was still a little early when she left, so Sena met Mamori on the way. Mamori was on the disciplinary committee, so she would be staying after school.

"Sena, this time you've gotta make some friends." Mamori glanced over to the shorter girl, "and not let people use you as a gopher again." Looking ahead toward the entrance, she spotted older students handing out flyers for activities. "Hey! Why don't you join a club? You can't be so passive," her cheery tone making Sena uneasy, "If you join one, you'll even get to talk to upperclass _men_."

"I'm not a little kid, you know," she mumbled to herself after sighing. Sena wondered when Mamori would stop trying to get her a boyfriend to protect her.

' _the only reason a boy would date me, is so he could boss me around without getting in trouble_ '

"Oh, but there is this one guy!" She said stopping their progress to school, "You shouldn't get mixed with him for sure!!"

"His name is Hiruma," an ominous feeling came over Sena, "Really, he's such a demonic guy that once he sets his sights on you he'll suck you dry to the bone before he's through."

' _i better remember that name_ '

"What was his name again? Hiruma?" Sena spoke loudly causing the students around them to panic.

*thump*

"NOOOOO!" someone shrieked. "P-please, you gotta help me. He's coming," a boy muttered as he tried to latch on to Sena. She maneuvered out of his reach and ran to class, wishing she hadn't had that conversation with Mamori.

 

~After The Last Class~

 

Even though Sena was a girl, most bullies would always treat her like their own slave boy. Free to punish as they see fit. Like now, three boys from her class had her go buy them sweet rolls. Using her speed, Sena ran there and back, informing them that the school store was sold out.

They didn't believe her, so they dragged Sena out to a run down shed behind the building. ' _why does this always happen?_ ' she thought as the door was thrown open. There inside was a helmet and jersey. ' _this must be the american football team's clubhouse_ ' Sena was tossed to the floor, while one of them put on a player's uniform.

*rattle*

The door opened, there was a huge guy standing in the doorway.

The guy got a startled look on his face and asked, "Are you here for the football team tryouts!?"

"huh?"

"Huh!?"

"HUH!?"

The boy in the football jersey tried to tackle the big guy, but he didn't even flinch. So the other two tried with him, while the big guy just smiled. He flung all three out the door causing them to skid into the wall. Worried, he rushed over to see if they were ok, but they ran off.

Walking back inside, he spotted Sena. She was still there, though now she was leaning against the desk instead of on the floor. Crying happily, he offered Sena a seat and tea. "Um, I'm not here to try out," seeing the look upon her savior's face she added, "I don't think girls are even allowed to play football." Sena wished she hadn't just said something so sexist.

' _what stupidity, there's nothing that says a girl can't play on a team with boys unless there’s a girls team as well_ '

The boy looked up in surprise, "You're a girl?" causing her eye to twitch, "Oh, I meant no offence. Just that you are wearing the boys uniform, I just thought..."

"It's ok. I feel more comfortable in this than a skirt," smiling as she waved off his apology.

They sat there having tea and sweets while watching a game from last year. One of the players had got hurt and had to be carried off. The boy, introduced as Kurita, said he had only fainted and that their team lost in the end. Kurita then explained about the Christmas Bowl, and when asked he told Sena what a team manager does as well.

"Maybe I could be team manager?" She asked, only to be answered with a loud, "Of course!" Kurita swung Sena around laughing joyously.

Walking home later, Sena looked at her cell, to now see three names in it. She was glad she had a nice new friend.

*slap*

Sena's head was forced to the right, turning her head back she saw the three from before.

"We've been waiting for you. That fatty, do you know him Sena? You tell us where we can find him, then we'll let you go," the blonde said as he looked down at Sena's bleeding face. ' _if i tell them, they'll go pick a fight. if they get caught kurita will be kicked off the football team. no i won't let that happen!_ '

"No. Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. You can hit me if you want, but I won't talk!" Sena's nose was dripping blood from before.

 

~'unknown passage of time' Later ~

 

Sena's eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting to the darkness.

' _what happen? i remember almost being beat up, then biting that guy's hand for my cell. running on the railing. there was a festival blocking the street. cutting through the crowd with ease. dodging the guy with shades. leaping down the stairs and jumping into the train. then i remember riding it for a few minutes. there was someone watching me, i could feel it. then everything goes blank. what the heck happened!?_ '

The sound of voices drifted to her ears, they were getting closer.

*rattle*

The door opened to reveal Kurita and some blonde guy. "Here's your application form," the blonde was firing off rounds near Sena's body.

"SENA!?" Kurita yelled as he rushed forward to save her. "Hiruma, I don't think Sena can…" he stopped as Hiruma threw a jersey at Sena, "Put it on." Hiruma and Kurita started to argue, or Kurita blubbered and Hiruma shot his gun. Shrugging her shoulders, Sena removed her jacket causing Hiruma and Kurita to stop talking and stare.

Without the baggy coat Sena's figure was much more visible, even with a large shirt and pants as cover. The boys could easily tell that she had _matured_ more then most girls her age, even though she was still short.

Kurita turned away to give her privacy, Hiruma just stood there. Not hesitating even a second, Sena took off the rest of her school attire, and donned the football uniform. For the brief moment she was shirtless Hiruma saw that her chest was wrapped up, giving the appearance of a smaller bust size.

Hiruma had partly seen something on her thigh, but Sena had pulled up her tights before he could get a better look. Just like with the oversized jacket, Sena would no longer be noticed as a girl.

With her hair pulled back from her face, Sena was able to put on the helmet without trouble. Looking at herself, she didn't notice the guys talking till she heard Hiruma say _games_.

"No, I can't play in any of the games. My friend is gonna freak when she finds out that I even talked to you," pointing a finger at Hiruma. "Unless," Sena bit her lip as she thought, "I can wear this eyeshield, then no one will know it's me, and use a codename." Sena smiled brightly. "I can say I'm team manager as a cover or I'm dead the moment I try to get anywhere near the field."

' _what am i saying! i don’t know how to play sports, i'm going to get myself killed_ '

Hiruma just smirked, cocked his gun and said "Your codename will be Eyeshield 21!"

Finally Sena was able to go home, only to bombarded with questions from her Aunt Mihae. When asked, she told Mihae the reason for her lateness was she had joined a club.

She nearly tripped on the hallway rug on her way to take a bath, too busy thinking about what she just signed herself up for.

Sena then set her clock to wake her early for her first football practice.

 

~*~

 

Sena again walked with Mamori, at a much earlier time then most students even thought of waking up at. "The football team?" Mamori looked at Sena in surprise.

"Well, Kurita's a really great guy. But then Hiruma is…" Sena bit her lip, "he's _different_."

"But football is too dangerous! Sena, you're slight, you're delicate, you're frail, you're just weak." ' _that's harsh. i've been able to mostly take care of myself since before we met, but she doesn’t need to know that_ '

"Hey, everything's cool, I'm not a player. I won't actually play football. I'm the team manager," Sena smiled, lying through her teeth, hoping it doesn't look weird.

"Oh, that's a relief. Wait, then why are you going to school so early?"

"Administrative staff meeting."

 

~*~

 

"MORNING PRACTICE!!" Hiruma yelled as he pulled a tied up Sena behind him. "I can get to the field on my own! I got here on time and suited up, why are you dragging me like a sack of grain!?" Sena looked warily at the blonde's head, wondering if he even heard her.

*thump*

*thump*

*thump*

*thump*

Sena was unable to speak as she was pulled down the stairs. Missing most of the conversation as she was freed from the ropes. "I was so wound up that I've been here since 2 a.m." Kurita spoke happily as he removed his helmet.

*snap*

"Idiot! You busted it!" Hiruma glared down at the lineman's practice equipment. ' _kurita is so strong, it's almost scary_ '

"Damn. Well, we'll just have to trick the principal into buying us another one again," he kicked it causing it to break more. ' _but this guy is demonic_ '

Leaving the guys to talk about the equipment, Sena wondered over to the undamaged items on the field. ' _wow, this is a lot of stuff_ ' "A ladder?" squatting down to get a better look.

"Oh, that? That's for ladder drills. It's used to practice your footwork like this," Kurita showing how. "It's an exercise to learn football fundamentals."

"Step in the spaces like this?" Sena got her footing right, only to be dragged away.

"We've got to teach the rookie, what better then the 40-yard dash to start," Hiruma's grip on Sena's collar tightened as he pulled her to the side of the field.

"I can walk on my own just fine," but she was ignored.

Kurita cracked his neck to one side, "My neck is killing me, I'm just gonna do this and then I think I'm done." He set up the markers and got into position as Hiruma passed Sena the stopwatch.

"How many seconds does it usually take to run 40 yards?"

"The average guy takes between five and six seconds. The five second wall is the line between a sprinter and an ordinary person. A high school kid who can do about 4.8 seconds would be an ace anywhere." Hiruma smirked as he looked at Sena, "The high school record is 4.4 seconds set by a guy named Shin, but he's a freak."

"Okay!" Kurita was ready at the starting point.

"Ready, set…"

*BOOM*

Hiruma shot a bazooka.

Kurtia ran as fast as he could. Sena stopped the clock as he crossed the line. Hiruma leaned over her shoulder to check the time. It said 6.5.

Hiruma looked pissed. "YOU DAMN FATTY! That's slower than before isn't it? What where you doing all morning!?" Hiruma started kicking Kurita into the ground.

Sena rushed forward, wrapping her arms across Hiruma's chest and around his waist. Planting her feet she shifted her weight back, pulling Hiruma away from Kurita. "He can't help it, he's tired. And one practice isn't going to make him fast."

Hiruma calmed down, then glanced over his shoulder. "Why are you still holding me?"

"Why are you letting me?" Mischief filled Hiruma's eyes as he smirked. ' _why can't i keep my big mouth shut!_ ' Sena thought as she released him quickly, looking away.

"Hey, watch this!" Hiruma was already at the starting point. Springing into action, he ran passed the other two. Checking the watch again, Hiruma had done the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds.

"YA-HA! My best time ever!" Turning around, he handed the stopwatch to Kurita, "Now, last but not least," looking at Sena.

"I don't have a choice in this do I?" Hiruma's smirk was all the answer she got. Sena got into position.

"Ready, set…"

*BOOM*

Sena stopped not 7 feet after the line, her time was "Right at the five second wall!" Kurita yelled.

Hiruma typed on his laptop, saying to himself how she was poor in P.E. and that her speed came from being a gopher, so without a threat she eases up on the speed. ' _only partially right_ '

Sena didn't notice Hiruma had moved, till he was right behind her. "Here Kitten, this is so you don't slow down," placing something at the back of her collar.

' _did he just call me Kitten?_ '

*twoot*

"CERBERUS!!!"

The sound of running could be heard. A medium sized dog skidded to a halt, looking at Sena. It opened it's massive jaws and gave chase. ' _i could out run him, but the pain will be worse then being bit by that demon hound_ '

Leaping forward, the dog landed on Sena's back causing her to fall. Sniffing her back and shoulders, Cerberus found his prize, removing it from her beside her neck.

Sitting down, Cerberus ate the treat. ' _at least he didn't try to eat me as well_ ' Sena then bucked the dog off her back, only to be grabbed as she tried to get up.

"Sena, you can't keep this ability hidden!" helping her to her feet.

"The spring game is ours," Hiruma smirked as he stood beside them.

"Bad Puppy!" Sena shouted as she swatted Hiruma's arm. The realization that she had just hit Hiruma and said those words aloud caused her to freeze in place. Slowly she turned her head to see Hiruma raise one blond eyebrow. Then a smirk spread across his face, he leaned forward and spoke softly in her ear, "Naughty Kitten."

The implications of those words finally settled in Sena's mind. "Damn Puppy Pervert," grumbling under her breath as Hiruma walked away. Though he still heard her, making him laugh.

Kurita was just standing there in shock, looking from Hiruma to Sena and back. Deciding to change the subject, he asked when there first game was. Hiruma's reply, "Tomorrow."

 

~*~

 

After Kurita took a few minutes to explain and teach Sena how to use the remaining equipment, they sat in the club house to talk about their up coming game.

*THUNK*

Hiruma slammed the butt of his gun to the ground. "We need eight more players by tomorrow's game. We'll split up and round up some people." Sena bit the side of her lip again, "No, we probably need nine. I rather wait until I know the rules better before I try to play. Also, so we have an extra player in case of injuries." She said the last more to herself then either boy.

"Three each!" slapping his hand on the whiteboard, half ignoring Sena once again. "Do whatever you have to! Just drag 'em in from the other sports teams!" Hiruma's smirk became more sinister, "Whoever brings in the least gets a penalty game."

Sena began to think of all the horrible things Hiruma might do, then mentally crossed them off. ' _he wouldn't do anything to damage my legs so shooting is out, as well as feeding me to Cerberus. he won't whip me unless he were to keep my legs from injury but to do that he'd… no, stop right there, not even going to finish that thought. mind get out of the gutter_ ' As she started to change once the guys left, Sena noticed that her pants were missing. In it's place was a skirt and a note.

( _It's against the football club's rules for girl members to wear anything other than the school's skirt, shirts are optional._

 _Hiruma_ )

' _that perverted puppy is gonna pay for this_ ' Sena, picking up the skirt, put it on to find that it fit perfectly, ' _how the hell does he know my size?_ '

 

~After The Last Class~

 

Sena laid her head on her desk. ' _i just started at this school, i don't know anyone_ ' She thought back to how the day went. Sena's Japanese class had been, to put it simply, gruesome. The teacher was cruel and unforgiving. Thankfully Sena had snagged a seat in the back, by the window. She hoped to never be called on.

History had been kind of boring, yet it had held her sway long enough to hear about homework. Over half the kids will be sweating bullets come Monday when they realize the teacher had asked for a 1000 word summary of what happened during the warring states era. He had told them their homework assignment over halfway through class, as a way to see how many students were actually paying attention.

Math turned out to be neutral, Sena had understood the equations once they were written out. She couldn't solve the harder problems unless they were in numbers on paper, though all the dividing and fractions were done in her head.

As a way to insure Sena's situation doesn't regress, Mihae had spoken with the Physical Education's teacher. She had Sena placed in the class where they held Phys. Ed. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, instead of once every week. ' _that plus football practice is gonna suck big time_ '

Sena thanked what ever god was listening as she devoured her assignment. Cooking class was a god send. It came right before lunch so Sena never had to pack one, seeing as the class was allowed to eat their work after is was graded. The class had no set structure, all they had to do was pick a recipe from whatever category the teacher asked. Then try and make it. That day the category had been Muffins, half the class tried to make chocolate chip, the other blueberry, most failed. Sena made plain ones with cinnamon and chocolate shavings. She had a tendency to alter cooking recipes until it came out a way she liked. She may only be a decent cook half of the time, but the taste was always interesting. Thankfully, Sena had hidden some for herself before the class had devoured each other's work.

Science was naptime, Sena just propped a book in front of her face and rested her eyes. When called on she had answered correctly to a question about photosynthesis, not even remotely near the lecture the teacher had been giving the class on single celled organisms. No matter how much she ever slept in past classes, Sena always got a passing grade in Science.

English was too much, it took a lot to fight back her laughter when the young male teacher had read from a book in english. The lines said 'Please, help my Rick. He can't stand up on his own.' He had read the letter d instead of r in the name Rick, so the lines came out, 'Please, help my dick. He stand up on his own' Once the words were said the teacher became very flustered. Thankfully it seemed that no one else had even understood a single word. Sena had had to clutch her side to stop from making a sound. Though he did notice her reaction the teacher said nothing, his little goof was now their secret.

Art was Sena's playtime. Not wanting to hinder the students creative selves, the teacher gave them free reign over what they did. There was now a vibrant painting of a grassy field now hanging in the art room.

' _not one person even looked at me other then the teachers_ ' Sena got up and made her way to the basketball team's clubroom.

*rattle*

"Excuse me, the football team is having a game soon. Would you be interested in playing?" Sena stood still as the two boys eyed her, then lost interest.

"No thanks. I'll pass." "Don't have the slightest desire." came their replies.

"Okay," Sena closed the door behind her and walked away, "well this sucks."

Moving on to the other teams she got the same kind of response.

Soccer team, three of the players wouldn't stop staring at Sena's legs. ' _it's like they've never seen a natural tan before. i mean it's not even near as dark as agon's, though slightly lighter than theirs_ '

Baseball team, gentle let down with a "Sorry but we're about to tryout the new members. We have no one to spare."

Swim team, were no good out of water, ' _or so they say, and again with the staring!? what is so fascinating about my legs?_ '

Table tennis team, refused to play any physical sport. No exceptions! ' _moody much? all right next guy that stares at my legs is gonna get hit_ '

Kendo team, had to practice for an upcoming tournament.

*slap*

*thud*

The captain of the Kendo team lay on the floor three feet from Sena, with a large red mark on his face. The entire time he had spoken with Sena, he had been looking at her legs. "What is with you guys and staring at my legs so much?" came through clenched teeth. One of the first years pointed at Sena's left leg. Looking down she saw the problem, "I'm sorry I didn't realize, please forgive my behavior," bowing deeply to the captain, Sena walked out the room resisting the urge to yank her skirt down.

Once she reached the bathroom she tried to lower her skirt to cover her 'mark' but it was no use. She was already wearing her skirt low on her hips, it couldn't get any lower. Hiruma was the one to give her the skirt in the first place so he was to blame, ' _you planned this, didn't you?_ ' Sena left the restroom to finish finding players for the game. ' _i guess the reason no one stared before was cause i was already seated or they were too busy with class_ '

Volleyball team, another tournament and more staring. "Hey, how bout you come see my game instead? I'm sure we'll have fun."

' _damn tall guys, think they can flirt with any girl they look at_ ' Turning on her heel, Sena resisted stomping out of the room.

Tennis team, not very good in most physical contact sports. Less staring was a good sign that there were nice boys at this school.

Karate team, unanimous no. ' _jerks_ '

Track and Field team, ' _only one guy in here, better make this count_ '

 

~*~

 

"Hey, I was wondering if you could play in the football game? We really need some support players."

"The football game?" Pulling on his jacket, he responded, "Sure I'll play."

"Great! So I can count on you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow!? No way, can't do it." Guilt crossed over Ishimaru's, the track player, face as he saw the defeated look in Sena's eyes, "You see, I've got a job delivering the local town magazine, and I'll got to have them out by tomorrow afternoon, so I can't make the game. Sorry."

Sena bit her lip thinking, "Um, maybe I could help you deliver them, in exchange for you playing the game tomorrow?"

"That might work, here I'll give you half and we'll meet up at this place in a hour," Ishimaru pointed to a place on the map he'd pulled from his bag. Marking it then tearing the map in half, he handed it over along with half the magazines. "See you in a hour." he said as he walked out the door towards his bike.

Marking the fastest route then memorizing it, "This should do." Sena put the map in her pocket. Taking off, she delivered every one making it to the meeting place before the hour was up. ' _mamori would get fussy, calling me a gopher again. but this is a choice to help my friends. there's nothing wrong with that_ '

*screech*

Ishimaru's bike stopped three feet from Sena. "That was amazingly fast. You didn't throw them away, did you?"

"No, I delivered every one!"

Ishimaru just smiled, "Just kidding. You were a big help. You really want me to play in the football game badly, don't you?"

"Pretty much," scratching the back of her head she answered.

 

~*~

 

Looking at the board Hiruma already had 7 people to play. Sena smiled as she placed the magnet on her side of the board. "That's great Sena!" Kurita yelled as he swung her around.

*slam*

"Damn convenience store! They're out of sugarless gum!" tossing the two each a soda as he walked in. "Even a fly wouldn't chew sugary gum!"

Sena caught the soda placing it on the table to let it calm after being shaken so much. Looking up she saw Hiruma place several more magnets on his side.

"We did it!" Kurita shouted, only to be kicked by Hiruma.

"No way did ' **we** 'do it! I did it by myself! You're both worthless!!" Sena had already moved behind the table out of Hiruma's reach when he turned to her.

"I was able to get one, so I guess I won't suffer a penalty game?" trying to change the subject before Hiruma could reach her.

"Go home and get some rest the train leaves at 7:30. Don't be late or you'll be running all the way to the game."

' _aunt mihae is gonna flip when she sees me in this skirt_ ' Sena walked out the door, only to be thrown against a wall not even two blocks from the school grounds.

"Oh my GOD! You look so cute!" Sena was pulled into what would be a rib crushing hug for anyone.

Once released, Sena looked up into Mei's natural green-streaked dark brown eyes. So similar yet different from her own. Sena's own were littered with gold flecks over the slashes of light and dark brown. Their eyes appeared to be hazel, unless someone really looked into them. The women of their family always had strange hazel eyes.

"Can't breathe!" muffled out from under a denim jacket, as she was once again nearly hugged to death.

"I can't help it, you look so damn cute!" giving an extra squeeze before pulling away to leave a foot of space between them.

' _i'm going to kill hiruma for getting me to wear this_ '

Knowing she wasn't going to escape any time soon, "Aunt Mihae would love to see you." Sena was immediately dragged off to her house by the humming psycho that was her uncle's sister.

 

~*~

 

After the horror that was dinner, Sena was allowed to hide in her room on the excuse she was doing homework.

Picking up her cell, Sena dialed from memory.

It was answered after two rings, "Who is this?"

"Auntie Mei came for a visit." Five minutes of silence passed, Sena could hear the music on the other end get quiet as the speaker left what ever place he was at.

"She wasn't too… Did she…?" cutting off, unable to even mention the past.

"No." A sigh could be heard over the line.

"Then why did you call?" he asked sounding slightly angry.

"I thought you should know, incase you run into her."

"Why did she come anyway?" anger still evident but laced with curiosity.

"Aunt Mihae called her, told her I joined a club, and she wanted to see for herself. She caught me in a skirt."

"Damn. Nothing too bruised?" Expressing concern was not his strong point, but he tried.

"Not a scratch. She left about ten minutes ago."

"Good, now get some sleep."

"You should take your own advice." Sena smiled as she hung up before he could reply.

 

~Next Day At 7:26 AM~

 

"Hey!" Ishimaru waved to Sena as she walked up to the station. Sena smiled, "I'm glad you came."

"So you're all here, huh?" Hiruma said from right behind Sena.

' _stop doing that!_ ' Sena glared at him for a second while she waited for her nerves to calm back down.

"Yeah, you're the last one." said one of the boys from the basketball team that had rejected Sena. "Where are the hot cheerleaders?" all the boys asked in unison.

"Oh they'll be here later. That’s one of them." Hiruma pointed at Sena. They all turned their heads to see Sena blush and look away shyly.

"I'm not much of a cheerleader but I feel I should show my support," a look of determination came into her eyes as she played along, "This seems like the best way. I hope I won't be to embarrassed in that outfit." ' _i'm going to castrate hiruma, burn him over a fire, and then kill him. i never signed up for cheerleader duty_ '

Several of the boys looked her up and down. Sena had instead of her school clothes chosen to wear calf-length cargo shorts, a light purple wife beater with dark markings in front over a black long sleeve shirt. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a braid halfway down her back. When not forced to wear the school loafers, Sena preferred boots with colored linings.

One of the boys wolf whistled, causing Sena to fold her arms and look away.

 

~*~

 

The train sped down the tracks, carrying the Deimon High Devil bats to their first game of the season.

' _note to self: never earn a penalty game_ ' Sena thought to herself as she remembered what Kurita had to do as a penalty game. ' _i don't think hiruma would make me do that, but i rather not risk it_ '

 

~flashback~

 

Kurita carried the team's equipment all the way to the train station. Much to the surprise of the other players, freeing Sena from their attention.

After every one was looking at Kurita and the load he was pulling behind him, Hiruma handed Sena some clothing, telling her to put it on while on the train.

　

~end flashback~

 

Sena walked over to the other side of Kurita, hiding behind him, she started changing into the cheerleading outfit Hiruma gave her.

It was meant for someone taller as the black and red pleaded skirt stopped two inches after her knees. The sleeveless black shirt stopped above Sena's belly-button, the word BATS was written in white across her chest. With what looked like red bat wings behind the word.

Stepping out from her hiding place, Sena sat down next to Kurita. Only to have Hiruma sit on her other side.

' _i'm gonna hurt you for this_ ' Sena glared at Hiruma for several minutes.

The other players started to notice Sena's clothes as she pulled out the tournament bracket. She ignored all their reactions entirely.

"Wow! There are lot more teams this year!" Kurita looked at the other teams that would be competing.

' _looks like we have to win five games to make it to the kanto game_ '

The smell of smoke hit Sena as she held up the chart, it was burning in her hands. "What the? Hiruma!"

Hiruma closed the lighter he had been using, "Don't bother thinking about the unnecessary. We're gonna win the game **today**. That's all we have to think about."

Sena growled under her breath about impulsive blond jerks, "I was just looking to see what teams I should check out so I know what our future opponents are like." Hiruma just smirked at her answer.

 

~Half An Hour Later~

 

"WOW!" Sena looked around the field, players were just finishing the last play as the Devil Bats arrived. Sena pulled out the camera Hiruma had told her to record the game with. ' _i'll tape the end of the game and see if i can figure out more of the rules along the way_ '

The Devil Bats got suited up as Sena recorded the end of the game. Sena grabbed a box and started giving out cleats to the players. "Does it always feel this strange before a game?"

Sena noticed Ishimaru grab a pair of cleats that didn't have the spikes the others had, but since they were in the box with all the other shoes Sena didn't say a word. "It's ok to feel this way. It's almost like your blood goes cold," he answered while pulling on the spike less cleats.

Sena noticed the lackluster spirit the team had about the game. ' _we need more regular players instead of support players_ '

"Ah, the other team is already here," Kurita smiled as he looked to the other side of the field. Sena looked to see the other team had girls all over, helping their boyfriends.

"This is the Koigahama Cupids' third season. Their players always bring their girlfriends to games." Hiruma read from his laptop.

The entire team started shouting that they were gonna crush the Cupids, all of them getting fired up.

' _well that's one way to get team spirit_ ' Sena smiled at her teammates.

"Hey, where are the other cheerleaders?" The boys looked at Sena for the answer. Thankfully they had gotten over the sight of seeing Sena in the cheer outfit.

"Well," Sena bit her lip, "I should ask Hiruma, he's the one who told them what time the game starts." Rushing away from them over to Kurita and Hiruma.

Before Sena could say a word, one of the Cupids' players walked over to talk. "Hey there, mangy Devil Bat. Sorry about all the high-pitched squealing and cheering on our side. These girls, they just insist on coming out to support us." The guy looked from side to side. "Hey!? There isn't a single girl around on your side! Hmm? Isn't that strange? Deimon High must be a boys' school."

"Oh really, well I go there and I see plenty of girls walking the halls," Sena walked forward with a slight sway. ' _i can't believe i'm doing this, someone stop me_ ' Sena pouted, "The other girls were busy so I have to cheer by myself. Even if it's by myself I'm glad I get to help support such a great team like this one."

A slight smirk curved Sena's lips as she saw what Hiruma was doing, "At least I would never cheer for the team playing against my own." Sena looked over the shoulder of the couple before her then to the left. The other side of the field was empty of girls, all of them now wore the Devil Bat cheer outfit waving black and red pompoms on their side of the field.

"GO DEVIL BATS!!"

Hearing their girlfriends cheer for their opponents got the Cupids really pissed off. Hiruma activated the sprinklers on the Cupids side, "Fire's under control."

"So, Sena, would you like me to explain some more about the rules or would you rather learn them by watching us play?" Kurita offered. "What have you learned so far?"

Sena smiled, "I'd like that Kurita." Sena bit her lip thinking about what she realized during the game she had watched, "You run with the ball to the end zone to get 6 points, a kick through the goal is worth 3 points. That’s the end zone?" The sprinklers started up again at the goal posts as Hiruma nodded. "You're better off running, since it's 6 points instead of 3. After you score you get a chance for an extra-point conversion, with 2 points for a run and 1 point for a kick?"

Kurita smiled nodding, "Wow Sena, you picked up the basics of the game pretty fast."

"I'm a quick study when it's something I like. And I'm starting to really like this sport, even with him as our captain," pointing at Hiruma as she spoke.

 

~*~

 

Sena huddled up with the team before the start of the game.

"WE GONNA KILL THEM!! YEAH!"

' _that's some battle cry_ '

Sena grabbed the camera and headed for the balcony on the equipment building, ' _i'll get better shots from up there_ ' walking toward the stairs. Looking up she saw a girl start to fall. Not even thinking Sena rushed forward and caught her along with someone else. A boy with short black hair had reacted the same way, the both of them were cradling the girl in between them.

"Sakuraba!" The girl fainted again.

"Let's let her sleep." Sena looked up so see a tall blonde stand beside them.

Gently Sena took the girl from between them and placed her on the ground. "Um, thanks for helping me save her." Sena bit her lip, unsure of what to say next. "Well, bye." Sena rushed up the stairs, leaving the two.

Because of that, Sena had missed the kick-off. As the players got into formation, Sena started to record.

The Cupids were on the offensive. The ball was snapped back to the quarterback only to be sacked by Kurita. Kurita sacked the other team's quarterback all four times making them unable to gain ten yards. After the fourth down, ownership of the ball when to the Devil Bats.

On the first down, Hiruma threw the ball in-between the lineman. Unfortunately Ishimaru couldn't grip it and it slipped through his fingers. It was a tug of war with the ball, as the two teams fought to reach the goal line.

At half-time Sena came down from the balcony and walked over to the team. Sena started passing out drinks to help hydrate the guys.

"Damn it! Get out of here!" Hiruma crushed his drink. Kurita and Sena looked on confused. Hiruma pointed to the other side of the field, "Over there."

"Ah! It's Sakuraba."

"Sakuraba? Who cares about Sakuraba. Look who's next to him. It's Shin from the White Knights."

"Wait, Shin as in the guy who holds the fastest record in high school?" Sena bit her lip as she tried to remember what she had read about him in the sports magazine. Sena had wanted to know who he was after Hiruma had mentioned him during their morning practice. "He's a linebacker, Defense only. It's his job to stop passing and running right?" Both of them looked at Sena with disbelief. "What? You said his name before so I was curious." Sena looked back towards the boy named Shin, it was the same one who had helped her save that girl.

"Whatever, but as soon as Shin leaves I'm putting you in," Hiruma walked away, putting on his helmet as the second half was about to start.

The fight continued, neither side giving an inch. The score was 0 - 0.

' _looks like a tie game_ '

Kurita tackled the player with the ball at the 10 yard line.

The Cupids were going for a kick. They got into formation. The ball was snapped back and placed on the kicking-T. Ishimaru rushed forward, only to slip. The ball went up through the goal.

"Ishimaru!" Kurita rushed over to find that their running back's ankle was twisted. Hiruma looked at the cleats, causing Ishimaru to be in pain.

"Damn Manager! C'mere! Can't you tell the difference between cleats!?"

' _the cleats were with all the other ones. how was i suppose to know the difference, i'm still learning_ '

"This means the death penalty for you!" Hiruma dragged Sena behind the building.

Letting her go, Hiruma tossed a bag to Sena. "Hurry up and change."

Not wasting a second, Sena stripped out of the cheerleading outfit. With Hiruma's help Sena put on the protective gear and uniform. Hiruma was able to get a better look at the _mark_ on Sena's thigh.

It was a red ribbon and black lace garter tattoo.

Before Sena pulled up her pants Hiruma asked why she had a tattoo. "So that I don't forget her **(1)**." Sena put on the helmet and left to enter the gate to the field.

Sena rushed over to where her teammates were huddled, sliding to a halt just inside.

"This is Eyeshield 21. Our running back who can hit light speed!" Hiruma announced.

Sena barely heard the whispers of her team as Kurita ran forward. "You changed your mind and came to play? That's great Se…" Hiruma shocked him before he could say Sena's name. Putting the taser up, he dragged Kurita out of earshot. Hiruma yelled at him, pointing at Ishimaru then turned and started talking to the girls.

They all turned and ran to the other side of the field screaming "SAKURABA!!" The blonde guy from before jumped up and ran for his life.

' _poor guy, he'd probably run all the way to hokkaido to get away from that horde of rabid fans_ '

Not even a minute later Shin went chasing after him.

The team huddled up for the last play. "All right. You're gonna **gopher it.** Run like you've never run before. There are 9 seconds left. Whatever we do, this is the last play. The Cupids are gonna kickoff but since you probably won't catch it, I will. Then I'll pass it to you, take it to the end zone and we'll get six points."

As everyone started to get in position Hiruma pulled Sena over. "No ones expecting a show of force from the likes of you. You've got your legs, Kitten. Grind 'em into the field."

*tweet*

The ball was kicked high.

Hiruma tossed it to Sena as soon as he caught it, as two players tackled him to the ground. Sena took off toward the end zone. She passed the Cupids quarterback first.

' _that’s one_ '

She cut pass numbers 83, 49, and 63. ' _two, three, and four_ '

Cutting in between then spinning out Sena passed 70, 40 and 56 without even blinking. ' _five, six, and seven, this is almost easy_ '

The last four players rushed forward to crush Sena. ' _it's gonna be tight_ ' Sena slowed downed. ' _this is gonna hurt_ '

Kurita and Hiruma took out numbers 28 and 14. The path cleared letting Sena run with ease. ' _eight, nine, ten, eleven. that's all of them, there's no one left_ '

Sena tried to stop in the end zone. She slipped in the mud. ' _why is it all wet over here? oh yeah, now i remember it's hiruma's fault_ ' Sena turned to look back as she got up.

The entire team was rushing to her.

"Let's get you on the Baseball team right now!"

"I don't know who you are but you've got to join the Soccer team!"

"The Track team!" Ishimaru was using a pole as a crutch.

"DAMN FATLOCK!" Translation: "Damn Fatty Block!"

Kurita stopped the other players as Hiruma went to talk with Sena. He crouched down beside her, "If those idiots find out who you are it'll be a never ending battle to snatch you away, I bet."

"No." Sena looked at Hiruma's surprised face, "I'm on the American Football team and nothing else." Hiruma smirked then frowned as his ears twitched.

"Hurry up and go change before you cause anymore trouble."

Sena ran around the building back to where Hiruma had made her change in the first place. Moving as fast as she could, Sena stripped of her uniform and protective gear, stuffing it into the bag.

"SENA!" Sena slipped back into her clothes. "SENA!" Mamori came around the corner to see Sena sitting there in the cheerleading outfit slightly uneven and dirty.

"I'm sorry. I was the one who told you to join a club. I'm so sorry," Mamori buried Sena's face into her chest as she cried.

Getting mad, Mamori walked out from behind the building pulling Sena with her.

*tweet*

[ _GAME OVER! DEVIL BATS WIN 6 - 3!_ ]

"Hiruma!" Before he even stepped off the field Mamori started yelling.

 

~*~

 


	2. The False Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ' _thoughts_ '/ " **Sena's male voice** "  
> *sound effects*  
> [ _ANNOUNCER_ / _P.A. System_ ]  
> ~ **Time Skip/Scene Change** ~

~*~

 

"This is the last straw! I've witnessed a year's worth of your barbarity at Deimon High. You don't pay any attention to what I say, even the disciplinary committee has given up on you. But this is it, I can't forgive you for what you've done!"

"Oh?" Hiruma walked over to his bag, reaching for the Devil's Handbook. "And what happens if you can't forgive me? Would you dare to get me in trouble and get me kicked off the team?"

"No, you can't do that!" Sena grabbed Mamori's arm turning her away from Hiruma. "It's game season, we'll be disqualified. You can't do that to him." Sena pleaded with her friend.

"I wouldn't do that, I know how much this season means to both of them, but at least stop bullying Sena. Just leave her alone." She started to pull Sena away, "I'll find you a better club."

Sena dropped Mamori's hand.

"I'm staying. I like being here in this club." Sena walked back over to stand beside Hiruma, "I'm not gonna leave just because it's a little dangerous."

"Ya know, maybe I forced too much work on Sena. She was doing both administration and manager's work. If she only acts as manager, her responsibilities would be lighter." Hiruma appeared to be talking to himself, though that was a lie.

Mamori thought the situation over, "Then I wanna join too!" Placing her hands on Sena's shoulders, Mamori smiled sweetly. "I'm sure this is such a relief for you, Sena."

' _mamori, you've been had_ '

"This is great! Our first victory, now four teammates. This could be it, the year we make it far if we don't face the Ojo White knights to soon. Hiruma who do we play next?"

"The Ojo White Knights," Hiruma spoke over his shoulder as he gathered up his things.

        

**~On The Train Ride Home~**

        

Kurita continued to fret about the White Knights, while Hiruma was completely calm. Sena and Mamori sat across from them as the train sped down the tracks back to Deimon Station. Sena turned in her seat to see Mamori looking vexed.

"I hope you're not mad with me, Mamori. What I said may seem rather mean, but I **really** like this club, and you did say I should be more outgoing," Sena ducked her head as she whispered her apology.

"Oh Sena, it's alright. I understand, really, you need something else in your life, and the football club is it." A smile spread across Mamori's face, "Really I'm ok, actually I'm kind of happy. Being in this club has already boosted your self-esteem. You were very calm when you spoke your mind back there."

' _i'm just happy she's not upset or giving me the cold shoulder. now that would be scary_ '

Being excited, some of the other players started asking about the mystery player. "Right, so who is this Eyeshield guy?" asked the boy from the soccer team.

Ishimaru leaned on his crutch, "You've got to let me bring him on the track team."

"Well…" Hiruma chuckled silently to himself. "All I'll say about him is that after completing his basic training at Russia's prestigious Retskov Athletic Institute, he transferred to Notre Dame University's football exchange program, where he scored 100 points per game." ' _damn that lying puppy_ ' "If we score 100 points to their 99, we'll win. In football the important thing is offence. We protect the running path with our blocking. If we can do that, then Eyeshield 21 will be sure to use his moves to score 100 points." Hiruma had not once broken eye contact with Sena during the entire time he was speaking. ' _where does that confidence come from?_ '

 

~ **The Next Day** ~

 

Sena walked around the school building as she headed towards the clubhouse. "Our second game is against the Ojo White Knights. Their defense is outstanding." Sena spoke aloud as she wrote in her small notebook, reviewing what she knew. "Shin is their linebacker, he only plays defense. It's gonna be hard to get by him. There’s also that Otawara in the line. Kurita will have to stop him if I'm to make any touchdowns."

Capping the pen, Sena placed it with the notebook back into her pocket. A burned piece of paper fell out as she pulled out her hand. "This chart is useless, I think there's another copy in that mess we call a club."

Sena froze after opening the door. ' _this can't be the same place as that mess_ '

The entire building was spotless.

"Oh, good morning, Sena." Mamori put down the wash cloth, examining her work. "Do you think they'll mind? I remember where everything was, so I can put it all back."

"No, this is great. Now it's easier to find things, they'll like it."

*rattle*

"Wow, it's sparkling clean!"

"INCREDIBLE!" Mamori and Sena said in unison. There before them stood Kurita carrying ten bags of food and a two layered strawberry cake.

 

~*~

 

*rattle*

*crash*

*thud*

Cake was on the floor, the table's top having been forcibly turned over. Sena being the fastest was able to avoid the food as Hiruma had kicked the table to clear it quickly.

Kurita cleaned frosting from his hair commenting how is was nice to see a normal reaction from him. ' _i'd almost say it's scary that i've gotten use to him already, if it weren't for all the time with agon i've had to suffer through_ '

"YOU COULD HAVE ATLEAST LET US MOVED THE CAKES FIRST!" Mamori yelled at Hiruma. He ignoring her completely as he emptied a box full of models on to the field designed tabletop.

"The scale modelers club **gladly** worked all night to make them for us," Hiruma put them all into position. He then proceeded to show them their game strategy, which consisted of Eyeshield running the whole game.

' _my legs are gonna be sore. how am i gonna explain that to aunt mihae? she'll tell auntie mei, who i'm sure is gonna ask agon to check up on me for not talking to her about anything_ '

*vrrrr*

' _speak of the devil and he shall call to annoy you_ ' Sena flipped open her cell, trying to ignore the conversation going on behind her.

"Yo?"

"You are evil." The words spoken caused a smirk to spread across Sena's face.

"And why would you think such a thing?" she questioned as she leaned on the wall by the door. Sena noticed, thankfully, that no one was paying attention to her.

"That woman wouldn't stop playing with my hair." Sena covered her mouth trying not to laugh, failed but turned it down to a chuckle.

"I did warn you she might stop by, and what did you do to your hair that would warrant such treatment?"

"Dreadlocks." Sena took a moment to picture Agon in dreadlocks with Mei fingering them. She was unable to stop the full blown laugh that caught everyone’s attention.

"Dreads? Why would you get dreads?" Hiruma narrowed his eyes, glaring at Sena. "Sorry but I gotta go. Club stuff."

"What club would have you?" His tone carrying across the line, full of sarcasm, concern and anger.

"The Deimon High American Football Club. I'm the secretary, and no I was not bullied into joining."

"You're on a team with that TRASH!?" His words barely heard by others rang clear as a bell to Hiruma. He started to make his way across the room toward her.

"Don't be such a egomaniac, I gotta go now. Bye" A shadow loomed over Sena.

*click*

Sena turned her head to see Hiruma standing at her side, hand reaching for her cell phone. Smiling brightly she spoke, "We should head to the weight room to check the team's current strength, so we can get started on some strength training, right?" Sena turned and quickly walked out the door never looking back.

 

~*~

 

Sena spent the time up until the next game training, strengthening what muscles she had as well as defining new ones. On the first day she found out Mamori could bench press 20kg, the average weight used when you start out the first time. Hiruma could do 75kg, while Kurita could lift 160kg with ease.

Sena's limit was 40kg, which Mamori found amazing for someone like Sena. ' _it's from all the time i spent with auntie mei and agon. you can't help but get muscles with that kind of company_ '

Sena also practiced with the ball when the field was empty. She'd throw it high into the air, then run toward it's landing point. Even though she made it on time she missed it a lot. Not until her fifth try did Hiruma comment on her catching.

Not once did Sena forget to do her schoolwork, her aunts would kill her if she did. Agon still called every now and then to make sure she was alright, even with her saying the club wasn't messing with her grades.

Thankfully, it was impossible for Hiruma to intercept the calls. It was his own fault. If Agon called during practice, Hiruma would get agitated and walk over to her. Mamori thought he was gonna bully Sena again, so she always intercepted him. Sena would end the call quickly so she could finish what she was doing at the time.

 

~*~

 

The Devil Bats arrive to the game in their own style. Meaning four guys were late and had to pull everyone while being chased by Cerberus.

"Just for a local game, why so many?" Sena couldn't help but ask. ' _the stands are full of girls. what, is there a celebrity here or something?_ '

"Oh, they're just here for Haruto Sakuraba." Kurita helped Sena unload their equipment.

Mamori glanced over, "Wow, the TV station is here."

"That must be why we're at this field," Kurita looked down, "I've never played on real grass before."

Seeing the food made for the White Knights, Sena's teammates got hungry. Thankfully Mamori had come prepared with rice balls. Sena grabbed an extra, walking over she gave it to Cerberus as Mamori passed out the food. The boys were so happy to have Mamori's cooking.

Looking to the stands once more Sena spotted Agon and some of his team climbing the stairs to the back row. ' _damn! please don't realize it's me_ '

Ducking down, Sena snatched the bag with her players uniform. Rushing off, she texted Mamori that she was getting videotapes, finding a secluded spot Sena changed. Running back Sena arrived before Hiruma had a chance to be angry.

Unfortunately she was mobbed by the other players.

"We've been waiting for you!"

"Teach the White Knights a lesson!"

"We need you to sacrifice yourself to Shin's Tackle!"

' _cowards_ '

Escaping them, Sena was able to speak with Kurita and Hiruma. "I thought you had gone home"

"No, I wouldn't. Like I said before, I'm not gonna leave just because it's dangerous. I'm staying with you guys, even if I end up with broken bones," Sena gave a nervous chuckle.

*woosh*

"HRMPH!"

"HUDDLE UP!" Hiruma yelled after kicking Sena's backside.

"What did I do?" Sena asked herself.

"He's not mad."

"Let me guess, him kicking you in the backside is his way of saying thanks?"

"Pretty much."

' _great_ '

Joining the huddle, everyone listened to Hiruma. "We didn't come here to defeat our opponent."

"WE CAME TO KILL 'EM!"

The team started chanting together.

"KILL"

"KILL"

"KILL THEM! YEAH!"

[ _AND NOW FOR THE KICKOFF! LETS SEE HOW MANY POINTS THE KNIGHTS WILL WIN BY!_ ]

      

~Two Plays Later~

         

[ _TOUCHDOWN_ ]

The Devil Bats rushed forward to Sena's side yelling thanks.

"YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!"

"AWESOME!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'VE GOT THE LEAD AGAINST THE WHITE KNIGHTS!"

"Amazing!" Ishimaru smiled in awe.

"All by himself, this guy did what we couldn't do. Awesome!"

"…" Sena opened her mouth ' _wait, i need to change my voice. gotta sound like a boy_ '

 _" **No, that was…** "_ ' _that was way to low. now let me try this again_ ' " **No, that touchdown was due to everyone's strength. If it weren't for all your blocking, I wouldn't have made it all the way.** " ' _that was good for a guy from notre dame? i hope_ '

       

~*GAME SUMMARY*~

~*First Half*~

            

The game continued on with the Devil Bats going for an extra-point conversion. Unable to score again, Ojo takes offence.

Using a goal line cover the Devil Bats plan to intercept the ball only 12 yards from the goal line.

Catching the ball, Eyeshield 21 passed to Hiruma, who then passed it back before getting tackled. Eyeshield 21 was then able to carry it to their own 13 yard line.

Hiruma made it to the 8 yard line by fake passing it to Eyeshield 21.

Shin entered the game.

Mid-play Shin reverses direction and bypasses Kurita and spear tackles Eyeshield 21.

On the next play Shin lifts Eyeshield 21 off the ground allowing Otawara to steal possession of the ball. Passing it back, Shin scores a touch-down.

With a kick, Ojo gains a one point lead. Using two more runs and kicks for extra-point conversion, ends the 1st Quarter.

Not stopping a second, the score is Ojo 35 Deimon 6 by the end of the 1st half.

         

~*~

      

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **a/n:**  
>  please don't kill me for this. and please comment, nicely if you will


	3. And They're Called The Devil Bats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ' _thoughts_ '/ " **Sena's male voice** "  
> *sound effects*  
> [ _ANNOUNCER_ / _P.A. System_ ]  
> ~ **Time Skip/Scene Change** ~

 

~*~

 

**~*GAME SUMMARY*~**

**~*Second Half*~**

 

Deimon is unable to gain any point as Shin continues to spear tackle Eyeshield 21. Ojo scores 14 more points by the end of the third quarter.

Eyeshield 21 sits out for Deimon's defense to conserve energy in the fourth quarter.

Shin repeatedly tackles Eyeshield 21.

Only a few minutes left when Sakuraba accidentally walks on the field and is hit by Eyeshield 21. Sakuraba is rushed the hospital.

Only by using all his energy Eyeshield 21 was able to pass Shin and score the Devil Bats second touch-down.

Ojo scoring three more touch-downs and two extra-point conversion using kicks leaves them the winners.

Ojo White Knights 68, Deimon Devil Bats 12.

 

**~*GAME SUMMARY ENDS*~**

 

Changing back quickly, Sena rushed to her team's side holding her bag with her uniform tightly.

On their way out Kurita was almost attacked by reporters, but was saved. "Hiruma's looking out for me."

"No way," Sena, Mamori and Ishimaru said in unison.

"NOW ACCEPTING NEW PLAYERS!" Hiruma smiled, placing his palm, with a map to the football team club house, against the camera's lens.

 

**~The Next Day~**

 

"Ow, my joints hurt," Sena started rubbing her arms and sides. ' _thankfully i wasn't hit too hard_ '

"Hey, Sena, what's wrong?" Mamori asked as she popped out of nowhere. ' _how does she do that?_ '

"Oh nothing, just kinda sore from all the running around the stands taking pictures," waving off any suspicion Mamori might have.

"Ok, but don't work yourself to hard. It wouldn't be good for the secretary to collapse."

They continued on their way to the club house, only to see it under construction. "What are they doing to the team room?"

"Here pipsqueak, I had those photos of yours developed. Get them in order by the end of school." Sena started for the club house but was pulled back by her jacket collar, "You can't go in there, it's being renovated."

A man with a cigarette and blue prints asked who was paying. "The principal," was Hiruma's answer.

 

~*~

 

Sena slowly went through the pictures at the end of her last class, separating the ones of Sakuraba.

Looking at the last photo, Sena started to cry. ' _it's over. if only we were a stronger team we would still be playing_ '

*rattle*

"You done with those photos or what, damn Kitten?" Sena nearly dropped the pictures at that.

"We're not here to rush you or anything, but we can't use the team room and this is the only classroom with a TV," Kurita spoke calmly as he passed through the door, taking a seat near the front.

"Let me guess, this was your class last year?" A look of confusion passed over Kurita's face at Sena's words. She merely pointed at the television as explanation.

Hiruma turned around after he hooked up the VCR, and looked back at Sena. "Hey, once you're done organizing the photos, go home. Preparations for the Christmas Bowl have already begun."

"The what? Oh yeah, the Christmas Bowl. I almost forgot," surprise flashed across Sena's face. "There are two tournaments every year, during Spring and Fall. The Fall champion goes to the Bowl, right?"

Kurita smiled as he nodded.

Hiruma just smirked, "Anyway, we've got to do something about Shin. If we win the Fall Tournament, then at some point we'll face Ojo again."

 

~*~

 

Sena notices the ladder they use for practice was left out in the rain.

' _they left it out again, but i guess it's the manager's job to put it away in the first place_ '

"……"

Putting her bag and umbrella in a dry spot, Sena started practicing in the rain. ' _i'm going to face shin again, and this time i'm gonna win_ '

 

~*~

 

Sena walked tiredly towards school, having had no sleep. ' _i knew ignoring his calls after the game would be bad, but to go so far as to call me last night every ten minutes is over kill_ '

Sena yawned as she shifted the team's spare football from hand to hand. Gripping the ball between her hands, Sena held it tightly to her chest as if it were a hand off. To far in her own thoughts Sena nearly fell over a stray baseball.

"Hey, a little help. The ball, throw it here." Looking up, Sena saw a boy wearing the baseball uniform carrying a basket full of balls. Without thought Sena tossed the football with both hands. Her aim was off, the ball went headed for the windshield of an oncoming truck.

With a jump the baseball guy caught the football with ease.

"Thanks…" ' _i almost fall over a baseball and when a player comes asking for it, i throw the football, what is wrong with me?_ '

"I MEANT THE BASEBALL!!" The boy looked beyond furious. He turned to look at her, an angry look crossing his face, only to change to a blush a moment later when he got a good look at her.

"I'M SORRY! I wasn't thinking," Sena bowed her head, not wanting to see how angry the guy was.

"Oh, well ok, um… sorry about yelling," the blush deepening as he looked at his hands then to the ball in them. "Hey, isn't this part of the team's equipment? How come you have it?"

"I didn't steal it or anything, I need to practice handling the ball so I borrowed it." shrugging her shoulders.

"What? You're really dedicated, aren't you?"

 

~*~

 

The day had started out so well, a few bumps along the way towards a decent evening, only to nose dive at the end all thanks to Hiruma.

After the almost accident with the baseball player, Sena explained that it was football not rugby and that she was the team manager. He had offered for Sena to go see the baseball team's scrimmage as another player dragged him away.

Sena had been so focused on how to handle the football that she didn't notice anything until she opened the door to the clubhouse only to find a casino. Mamori and Sena shared the same reaction to the neon sign now sitting atop the clubhouse. It's new image and the posters Mamori had made were to help recruit players for the team, hopefully a much need receiver.

The four members of the football team went through the school putting up twenty posters each. Sena noticed some writing on the side of the TV in her classroom as she placed a poster on the wall behind it.

" **GO FOR IT!**

The Christmas Bowl

1-2 Kurita

Hiruma

 **Musashi** "

Sena couldn't help but think of how lonely Hiruma and Kurita must have been at losing a player.

Looking out the window Sena saw the baseball team having their scrimmage and spotted the guy from earlier. It wouldn't hurt to ask him to join, he could play for both teams if he wanted.

 

~*~

 

Sena wandered behind the field, eyes snapping back and forth, gaze darting around trying to find the boy. She heard shouts in the air after the batter hit the ball.

"It's short!"

"He won't be able to tag up."

Sena placed a finger on her lips and thought about the terms she sometimes heard her uncle use while watching his baseball games.

' _tag up? i think that's when a runner advances after a fly ball is caught_ '

In that moment, her eyes caught sight of the boy from earlier. He zoomed over to where the ball was landing, hand outstretched to catch it. Only he was getting in the way of another player. Sena watched as he caught the ball, her mouth opening slightly in awe.

' _that's incredible!_ '

She continued to watch the play, only to jerk to the left to avoid a baseball that nearly collided with her skull. Sena clutched her chest, feeling her heartbeat skip a beat, a brief flash of fear freezing her. Cold sweat dripped down her face. That was way too close. She quickly grabbed one of the extra helmets and put it on.

' _i hope they don't mind me borrowing this_ '

She turned her attention back to the boy, only to see him being stomped on by his teammates. Her attention was caught when the two males on the bench next to her spoke to each other.

Then the one that looked like the coach stood up. "We're checking out everyone's batting today. There's so many first years, I can't tell 'em apart."

The other male, Sena thought him most likely to be the captain of the team, spoke. "First years- raise your hands!"

Sena raised her hand from the instinct. Having changed into pants earlier to put up posters without worrying about her skirt flipping up, Sena was again mistaken for a boy and pulled into the game. Two strikes, then the catcher missed the ball when she swung, Sena ran to first base and kept going.

 

~*~

 

Sena returned to the field after changing back into her skirt, going so far as to wait until nearly all the players were gone to give back the jersey.

"HEY!" Sena jumped up in surprise from the sudden call from behind her. Turning around, she came face to face with the boy she had originally come to talk to.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you on the rugby team? Did you really come to watch me play?" He looked really pleased to see her there. Sena bit back a laugh at the look of joy on his face. She tended to get the same look from Agon whenever she visited him.

"Well…" Sena rubbed the back of her head and proceeded to explain what she was really doing there as they started back towards the school buildings. After she finished explaining, they had stopped at the door.

"What? The football team?" exclaimed the baseball player. "I'm not joining."

"I see…" A gloom seemed to descend on Sena.

"After all, it would be embarrassing."

"Oh…" Sena felt her shoulders slump, eyes downcast. The gloom around her darkened.

"Oh! Don't get me wrong," said the player, "I don't mean that playing football is embarrassing." He held out his hands and waved them around frantically. "I would never make fun of someone else's sport," he let out a sigh and turned back to look forward. "I meant that it would be embarrassing for me to stop focusing on baseball. I've bet my life on my glove. My catching is gonna make me a hero someday!" There was such a determined feeling revolving around him that Sena couldn't bring herself to speak anymore.

"Ah well, see ya!" he waved goodbye and continued walking on. Sena waved back before she hurried back towards the clubhouse where her team were no doubt waiting for her. Tonight was when they would be showing the Ojo Deimon game on TV.

 

~*~

 

Sena walked home feeling dread slowly creep up her spine. The call from Agon would be unavoidable after seeing that comment made by Hiruma in Eyeshield's place.

 

**~*Broadcast of the Game*~**

 

High School Football. Haruto Sakuraba's debut game. Ojo White Knights VS Deimon Devil Bats.

"Sakuraba is a wide receiver. This is a catching position. I'd have to say that the essence of football is catching!"

Sakuraba had some trouble catching a pass. The camera cut to all the many females cheering for him as Sakuraba caught a second pass.

The announcer continued. _"But Deimon's Ace is Eyeshield 21!"_

 _"This injury took Sakuraba out of the game,"_ commented the news reporter, showing a clip where Eyeshield 21 slammed into Sakuraba.

"We have received this comment about the accident… From Eyeshield 21."

" **Did you see my 'Homicide Tackle?' Accident? Now way! It was deliberate! No mercy for anyone who gets in front of me! If you don't want to die, then stay out of my way! YA-HA!** "

"…And so…"

Neither reporter felt comfortable continuing so the rest of the game was aired without comment.

 

**~*End Broadcast of the Game*~**

 

Rumors began spreading about Eyeshield 21 rapidly the next day at school, mostly due to the game being on TV yesterday afternoon.

' _everyone is creating their own impression of me_ ' Sena sighed a bit. ' _TV is pretty scary…_ '

Chills trailed down her spine at the thought of the night before. Sena had to deal with the Agon calling every 20 minutes or so with new ways to curse her team, after an hour of demands for her to tell him why she would choose to be anywhere near trash like Hiruma and that Eyeshield idiot. Agon was all for going over to the clubhouse and killing them both.

' _i'm just so happy he didn't realize it was me in the game, or he really would have killed someone_ '

"Hey… Manager!" called Sena's new almost friend, waving towards Sena, breaking her out of memory lane.

"Ah, hey," Sena cheered up at the sight of the high spirited boy.

Using his feet to grab his classroom slippers, he commented, "I saw it… Last night on TV!" Crossing his arms with an angry look, "That Eyeshield guy is a real jerk."

Sena cringed, turning to face away from him. The urge to slam her head against the wall almost overtaking her.

' _why did you say that wearing my uniform, why couldn't you have done it in your own. i don't want an intimidating reputation_ '

Without noticing, the boy continued, "First he injures a guy. Then he says, 'Did you see my Homicide Tackle?' There's no excuse for him!" His angry look softened as he glanced at her. "It must be hard on you. To have such an awful guy on your team."

"Heh…" Sena tiredly smiled, "Well, you know… You're right about there being a not so nice guy on the team." Sena could just see Hiruma cackling gleefully at her misfortune. "But if it weren't for Eyeshield…" Sena smiled, thinking back to her first game. "We wouldn't have won our first game."

"Oh yeah, right!" perking up at that mention, he couldn't help but smile widely. "The game against Koigahama was your first victory, wasn't it?" He got even more excited, "Let's celebrate! To your first victory! And to me making first string!"

"First string? Really? Congratulations!"

"No, actually, I don't know yet. I'll find out after school." His mood turned down, "To tell the truth, first string might be too much to hope for. But I can probably work my way up from second string…"

*woosh*

He suddenly leapt away. "Hey… negative thoughts not allowed! Come to the baseball team room after school!"

Sena couldn't help but be happy having talked to him, she waved goodbye.

 

~*~

 

Sena raced down to where the baseball team's players were to be posted. She came to a stop in the hallway outside the baseball team's room. Looking around, she tilted her head slightly in confusion. "What, he's not here yet?" She walked over to the posting and looked for his name. "This must be the posting… I wonder if he made it…" Sena continued glancing down the list. "Let's see… first string…" Sena stopped looking at the list with a start.

' _i just realized that i don't even know his name_ '

*rattle*

Hearing the door open Sena looked to her left only to see the two males from yesterday at the scrimmage.

"Ah… excuse me. I was just looking for, um, someone?" Sena trailed off slightly, "Do you know a baseball player with reddish-brown hair like this…" gesturing with her hands to her head, "He's a first-year who's really good at catching. Did he make first string?"

The two looked at each other then back to Sena before speaking. "He's not on the team." The coach lit up a cigarette, bored.

"Ah, you mean him, right?" The captain pointed out his name.

RAI MON TARO.

' _hmm… his name's montaro rai_ ' Sena glimpsed at what string he was under: "Third string."

"Third string isn't really part of the team. They're more like an adjunct club of enthusiasts. Basically, they didn't make the cut."

"We had a lot of applicants. It's not bad, but we can't take everyone," the captain said trying to be comforting.

Sena could practically taste the unease building in her. Remembering his words to her, her chest tightened slightly.

" _I've bet my life on this glove… My catching is gonna make me a hero someday_! "

 

~*~

 

Sena walked towards the clubhouse, a pensive expression on her face going over what she had heard at the scrimmage.

" _This team doesn't need guys who are only good at one thing_!"

Sena's looked towards the opening of the clubhouse door. Watching Hiruma give Mamori last minute instructions as she ran off with more fliers to hand out.

"Bombard any tall guys with fliers, got it?"

"It'd be great to find a good receiver."

"…" Sena stopped in front of Hiruma. "Hiruma… Is it really such a problem…" her eyes cast down, "if a receiver isn't tall?"

Kurita answered instead, "No, it doesn't really matter."

"And in football, is it a problem if you just have one skill?" Sena looked up into Hiruma's eyes.

"Damn Kitten, you've got it backwards," He looked rather amused. "We **want** people who are good at one thing."

"It's a very specialized game, you see," Kurita added in.

Sena felt as if a weight had been taken from her shoulders. "Then, may I have some fliers?" Kurita offering some from the stack in his hands to her, but Hiruma snatched them away before either could blink.

"You don't have to hand these out! You'll hang them up in the most useless places… It's become clear. You're no good at being the team manager."

"That wouldn't be a problem if you let me actually do something for the team besides always training."

Hiruma held out a rope, once again ignoring her every word. "Instead you're gonna start practicing! To start with, ever day you're gonna run before and after school!" Hiruma quickly tied the rope around Sena's midsection and then around Cerberus's collar.

Sena once more felt dread creep up her spine.

' _i've got a really bad feeling about this_ ' She gazed fearfully at the growling dog, straining against it's chains.

"Hmm," Hiruma looked contemplative at his dog, "wonder why this one's all riled up…" A grin began curling at the corner of his lips. He inserted the key to Cerberus's lock on his chains and within seconds, he was off, dragging Sena along with him.

*VWOOSH*

Sena barely held in her scream.

 

~*~

 

After bashing into a few things Sena was able to keep pace with Cerberus as he dragged her all over Tokyo. After a while, it seemed that he had finally picked a single direction.

Within ten minutes, Sena found herself at the open-park near the school. Without sparing a moment, Cerberus launched himself toward Sena's new friend Montaro. Latching onto the seat of his pants as he tried to run.

"WHAT THE HECK! CALL HIM OFF!"

"YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS HIM TO STOP!"

It took at least a few minutes to calm Cerberus down with Montaro tossing him food.

"I'm really sorry about that," Sena gasped, tears building up in her eyes as she took slow deep breaths. Just like Auntie Mei had taught her to when one wanted to calm down a racing heart.

Montaro waved his hands quickly. "It's all right! It's all right!" he yelped looking on in concern until Sena sat down breathing easier. Calming down an instant later, he couldn't help but inquire, "You're pretty fast. Do you join in with the training too?"

"Yeah, Hiruma wants me involved so I can keep up with the team when needed." Sena couldn't help but think of the irony in that statement. When needed. She was always needed what with being the team's star player.

"Huh, an athlete…" Montaro trailed off, gaining a forlorn expression. "I can't even call myself an athlete anymore." He leant back on one arm and held up the other, with his beloved glove on his hand. "See this glove? It was actually used by the pro ball player Honjo."

"He happens to have an amazing catch. Whenever he makes a catch, the crowd goes wild!" Montaro gained a faraway look, recalling one of his fondest memories.

**~flashback~**

 

"He's incredible. I'm gonna become a hero just like Honjo!" Montaro stood up in the stands along with the crowd cheer their heads off.

"The laces in that glove look like they're through," one of the other players said to Honjo.

"Should I get another one?" Honjo looked up into the crowd and spotted Montaro. Taking it off and he tossed it into the stands, Montaro leapt up and caught it.

 

**~end flashback~**

"I've been practicing ever since then, betting my life on my catching."

Montaro wrapped his arms around his legs, "But now… I have to deal with my first failure in life. I realize that it happens to everyone at some point." Slumping farther forward, he uses his glove to try and keep Sena from seeing his tears. "I have to face that I'm never going to be a pro baseball player."

Sena looked at him, her arms wrapped around her knees, eyes wide. She wanted nothing more than to help him at that moment.

Montaro pulled himself together and stood up. "Aww, this conversation is getting to be a drag. I'm going home. Go ahead and eat whatever you want." A futile gesture as Cerberus continued to devour the rest of the food.

Sena stood up and watched him walk away for just a second then she ran up the hill to the sidewalk and yelled, "What about my team?! We're looking for a player who can catch!"

"You mean, since baseball didn't work out, how about football? I can't run away like that," he said, stopping yet refusing to turn around.

"It wouldn't be like that, it's not running away!" shouted Sena, her hands clenching tightly, one gripping her bag's strap, the other the nails digging into her palm. "At first, it was the same for me… I really wanted to be a great manager. But I don't seem to be cut out for it. So instead… so instead I've been trying to play the game a little myself. It's totally different from what I had hoped, but… Now I'm having more fun. It could happen for you too! This doesn't have to be an end for you."

"Thanks a lot…" Montaro started to walk on, clutching his glove under his arm. "I know it's silly, but I can't turn back."

Sena's eyes looked towards where Cerberus chomped at him earlier and promptly looked away. "Err…Wait!"

"That's enough. I'm sorry, but I gotta go."

"No, it's just that…"

"I don't want to hear it! Bye!"

Sena groaned, already feeling bad rushed to his side. "Ah, wait up." Holding her bag up behind him, Sena kept her face forward as she whispered, "Your pants are ripped!"

 

~*~

 

"Sorry about your pants…" Sena flushed a light pink, facing the opposite row of lockers.

"It's all right. I'm sorry ya had to see that, you did try to warn me and all." Montaro said awkwardly. He opened his locker with one hand, the other holding his bag to cover the ripped section of his pants. "What stinks is that I thought I could wear my uniform home," Montaro closed his locker with a sigh, "But it's being cleaned."

"What about a football uniform?" Sena pointed towards the clubhouse. "I think there are a few extras in the team room, if you want?"

"Really?" Montaro cheered up only to shake his head back and forth rapidly a moment later, having to clear his head of the imagined comparison between his baseball uniform and the American football uniform. "NO! I can't do it."

"I'm onto you – you're strangely persistent… You think if I'm not gonna be playing baseball, than why not check out football…"

*zwoom*

"YIKES!" Montaro yelled out, having been forced to catch the ball with one hand. "What the –? Your teammates?" pointing to the two upperclassmen standing next to the ball cage.

Hiruma let a grin spread across his face, showing his sharpened teeth.

*clang*

With a devilish look and one fell swoop, Hiruma trapped a shell-shocked Montaro into the cage full of footballs and headed straight for the clubhouse.

"YA-HA!"

 

~*~

 

*thmp*

*thmp*

*thmp*

*thmp*

"MMMPH! MMMMMMMPH!" Montaro's yelling muffled by the wrapping over his mouth.

Sena and Kurita chased after the two up the stairs.

Hiruma dragged Montaro tied up the same way he had with Sena for their first practice, and dragged him to the clubhouse, gleefully ignoring all protests to his treatment.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Mamori shrieked. Both Sena and Kurita winced at the volume of Mamori's yelling.

Hiruma looked slyly at Montaro. "He wants to join the team. Uh… A first-year… What's his name?

"Montaro Rai."

"Monta, huh? That's a good name for him."

Monta squirmed around as his tried to say something.

"What do you mean, 'He wants to join the team?!'" Mamori cried out. "This is clearly against his will."

"Right, clearly…" Kurita and Sena said in unison.

"Sorry about this. You must be in pain. Here, I'll untie this for you." Mamori began to untie the ropes binding Monta.

"What?" Hiruma's eyes narrowed. Reaching into his pocket, he started bringing out the Devil's Handbook.

Kurita and Sena went tense and wide-eyed. ' _that's his book of threats!_ '

Completely ignoring the others, Mamori continued to fuss over Monta.

' _please let my sanity hold through what ever he is planning_ ' Sena prayed in her mind, as Hiruma gained a rather joyful look due to Mamori's talk with Monta.

 

~*~

 

Sena and Monta headed home, having separated from the others a few blocks prior.

"This is great… You can't even tell where the rip was." Monta glanced down at the back of his pants trying to spot were Mamori's sewing had fixed them.

"Mamori has always been really good at sewing," Sena smiled at the memory of all the times Mamori had helped fix the small tears and rips in her clothes from all the running.

"Huh?" Monta turned towards Sena, as she walked slightly ahead of him. "Have you known her for a long time?"

*GRAB*

"She's a childhood friend."

*RUSTLE*

*RUSTLE*

"We've been friends since we were little, our houses are near each other so…" Sena turned to look at Monta, "Eh!"

' _where'd he go?_ '

"Monta!" Sena began jogging around the area looking for her friend.

 

~*~

 

"Don't get the wrong idea, pipsqueak."

' _what are they doing?_ ' Sena came to a halt where the fence opened up to the park.

"The first time… That was an order from my boss." Hiruma lit up a cigarette.

Behind Monta and Hiruma, Sena looked at them from the gate. ' _boss…?_ ' She paused and decided to try and figure out what Hiruma had planned and hope it wasn't going to do anything harmful to her new friend.

Hiruma continued, "It's not a good idea to disobey him… The big boss doesn't like to do the dirty work so he always gets us to do it for him!" The more he said about this mysterious boss, the more Sena wanted to hit him with her bag. She had no doubt who Hiruma was referring to. She glanced over to Monta hoping he wouldn't be fooled, only to see him enraptured by the story.

"Who would do such a thing?"

Hiruma smiled and spoke, "Eyeshield 21…"

Monta had steam erupting from him. "YOU MEAN THAT GUY?!"

Sena's head dropped against the fence.

' _i'm going to kill that psychotic puppy_ '

"I bet he even gives Sena a hard time too!" Monta slid down the slide, angry. "Why is someone like him the boss?"

"Say what you want, he _is_ the team's main man." Hiruma's eyes slanted toward Sena for barely a second before returning to Monta and a smirk curling his lips. Hiruma held the cigarette in his left hand, as he sat on top of the bench. Sena noticed that other than when he first lit it, the cigarette had yet to touch his mouth. ' _at least he's only using it as a prop_ '

"Even Mamori joined the team because she was charmed by his skills in football."The look of shock and horror on Monta's face made Sena want to scream at Hiruma.

' _he makes up such nonsense…_ ' She took a look at Monta and a feeling of exhaustion flooded her. ' _he looks so enraged_ '

"And once while smoking he said… **'Mamori? I'll just use her and dump her.'** as if he were making idle chit-chat."

"TH-THAT'S THE LAST STRAW!"

' _he makes me sound like a heartless womanizing narcissist_ '

Hiruma looked as if he were off in thought, "I wonder if anyone could take his place… and save Mamori! Maybe if it were someone with great catching skills…"

' _he's falling for it!_ ' Sena's eyes widened as Monta fell into Hiruma's trap. ' _he is way too gullible_ '

"N-no. I can't do it. I'm on the baseball team." Monta shook his head rapidly to clear the thoughts of Mamori being grateful to him for saving her from Eyeshield 21. "It wouldn't be good if I ran off to this team after finding out I didn't make the cut for my own team."

"You're right, it wouldn't look good! But what if, say, you sacrificed yourself in order to save the girl?" Hiruma had to stop himself from cackling in absolute glee as he watched the emotions fly across Monta's face. "There aren't many true gentlemen around anymore…"

Hook, line, and sinker.

Sena could see Hiruma's sharp canine like teeth within his smile as he saw he had accomplished what he had wanted. Hiruma looked like a demonic elf – there was no other way for Sena to describe him at that moment. The sight made her insides flutter.

Monta looked like he had had an epiphany. Sena barely kept herself from face palming. Deciding she had heard enough, she started to walk away when she heard Monta, "Let me think about it… overnight"

Hiruma merely nodded and walked away, tossing his cigarette on the ground and stomping out the flame. He came to were Sena was standing at the fence. Turning her around he placed his hand on her back and guided her down the street.

Sena couldn't tell if the shiver was from the cold night air or from the hand now draped over her shoulders following his words.

"Let's get you home Kitten."

 

~*~

 

Sena had decided to show up early to the clubhouse, only to find the door ajar. "Hey, why is this open, is someone already here?" Opening it more she walked in and saw the back of an American football jersey.

80

"Yo, Sena!" Monta turned around and smiled at Sena pointing his thumb at his back. "This is Mr. Honjo's number - 80!" Sena beamed at her new teammate, so happy the he chose to join the football team.

He pumped his first into the air and yelled out: "DOWN WITH EYESHIELD 21!"

Sena face palmed as Monta walked out the door.

The two walked out to the field.Monta laughed as they stood even with each other. "C'mon! Let's go! MAXIMUM EFFORT!"

Sena let loose an amused hmm. "First, let's start with a run!"as they both prepared to dash.

"READY?!"

*VWOOSH*

And the two took off.

 

_Deimon Devil Bats Wide Receiver_

_Taro Raimon (Monta)_

_40-yard dash – 5.0 seconds_

_Bench press – 40 kg_

_Jersey Number 80 – Catch Master_

 

~*~

 

Sena and Monta, along with Hiruma and Kurita, were training in the school's weight room.

"You sure this is ok? I'm not hurting you, am I?" Monta asked, as his hand pressed down against the side of Sena's head, helping her with the neck stretching exercise.

"I'm fine," Sena said through clenched teeth, still counting. The stretches didn't hurt nearly as mush as when she first had tried them. ' _agon nearly snapped my neck that first time, if auntie mei hadn't been there my head might have been permanently tilted_ ' She knew to keep the rest of her body in shape, not just her legs.

The two of them continued their stretching, switching to different exercises every so often. Hiruma and Kurita did their own training lifting weights.

*crash*

Sena fell from her position when the door abruptly opened startling her.

"Oh, Sena!" Mamori came rushing in. "Are you okay?" she fretted. Mamori helped Sena up slowly.

Sena bit back a groan. "It's okay…" She rubbed the back of her neck, smiling up at Mamori. "I just wanted to work out with everyone."

Mamori looked at Sena will concern. "All right, but take it easy, okay? Don't push yourself too hard." She rubbed her fingers into Sena's shoulders, making her relax into the massage. Both the females turned as they heard Monta start to crow out.

"Ow… my shoulder seems like it's out of whack…" Sena held back a snort, watching him make a fool out of himself for Mamori's attention. She had to bite her lip when Kurita went to help him out instead of Mamori.

She shook her head fondly. ' _kurita is happy… he's got more friends now. we're gaining more teammates. it's slow but we'll have a full team eventually_ ' Sena smiled at the thought. She was still so happy that Monta had joined the American Football team. No offense to the others, but she kinda liked having a friend the same age and size as her.

Before her thoughts could turn to her other taller friend, Hiruma spoke up, "Hey, damn pipsqueaks – work on building up your necks… otherwise you'll get killed in the game." He continued to polish his guns, not once looking up.

"But… the next game is so far away." Sena turn to look at Hiruma, and pouted when she realized she was being ignored again.

*ruf*

*ruf*

*ruf*

Hiruma looked down at Cerberus who ran to the window with the morning edition. Quickly grabbing it and unfolding it, he scanned the paper. His eye twitched.

"THOSE DAMN SCRUBS!" Hiruma all but snarled, throwing down the newspaper onto the bench. He was practically seething.

Sena and Monta leant over. "Another bag snatching? Isn't that where you go running!" Monta picked up the paper looking at the article, "I bet it's those guys from Zokugaku."

"Zokugaku?" Sena asked looking over his shoulder at the paper.

"The high school across the river. Really, they're like a gang of thugs. It stinks having them so nearby…"

*bonk*

"That's not the article I meant!" Hiruma had slammed Sena's and Monta's heads together. "Look at the sports page!" His hand staying on the side of her head as she read. Sena's gaze found what Hiruma was talking about, "Ojo only won by 1 point against Sankaku?" 

"A one point game!!" Kurita wandered over. "That's pretty close."

A slight tick formed below Hiruma's right eye, his mouth twisted into a snarl. "Why'd their third round game have to be so close?! Now we can't brag against scoring twice against them!" He scowled, barring his teeth. Monta and Kurita took a step away from the angry blonde.

"Well, there's the publicity…" Mamori piped in hoping to calm the others down. "The fliers and posters are great but… what if we played a game in our own schoolyard?" she offered. The Deimon Devil Bats had only played two games so far.

"Yeah… She's right. Why would anyone care about us if they've never seen us play?" Kurita thought out loud.

' _maybe if we win another one, there would be more recruits – willing ones, hopefully_ '

Hiruma took a moment to think before whipping out one of his cell phones and a laptop. In a matter of minutes, Hiruma did his usual trick of getting what he wanted. "All right! It's set – a game this weekend!"

"So soon!!" Monta freaked. He had only been on the team for a day, and now he would be in his first match in less than a week. Monta gulped at the thought. Sena offered him a sympathetic smile.

"It's always like this with him." She knew exactly how he felt. Hiruma had done the same to her with both the Cupids and White Knights games."Well, we might as well start training."

Hiruma marched forward grabbing both Monta and Sena by the back of their shirts and headed for the door. "Damn, pipsqueaks! Go shop for equipment while you're out running!" shoving them both out Hiruma let go and slammed the door shut.

 

~*~

 

"Hey, that's it!" Monta pointed to the sports shop.

He dashed forward before Sena could say anything. "MAXIMUM EFFORT! RUN!"

"Hey! Wait up!" Sena called out, but Monta kept running ahead. She laughed lightly. He always seemed to get a little too excited. She went after him, but as she ran past someone she glanced up, Sena froze.

' _that's right… shin doesn't know that i'm a girl or even what i look like_ '

"You…" Shin glanced down at the petite form standing behind him. He turned and stared at her. "Are you Eyeshield 21?"

Sena fought back panic, but seeing Shin's stoic face remain unchanged, she calmed down. "Uh… yes…" Turning to face him fully, she bit her lip trying to think of something to say.

*brmmm…*

*snatch*

"HEY!!! GIVE IT BACK!" Sena turned her head at the sound of Monta shouting. Monta began to chase the two young guys on the motorcycle.

"See if you can catch us, idiot!"

"Ha ha ha – it's a pretty good take!"

"Ack, the team's money!" Sena immediately began to chase after them.

Sena glanced up briefly to see Shin running beside her before turning her attention back to the thieves.

"There's a traffic jam on this side of the bridge. With our legs, there's no one we can't catch. You come up on them from the left. We'll attack them from both sides."

Sena could feel panic starting to creep in, but then took a deep breath and forced it back. Deciding to trust Shin, she nodded. "Right." With the speed that only they could do, the two were off, chasing after the thieves on the motorcycle.

*VWOOSH*

Eyes widening in shock at the scene in front of him, Monta paused for a moment before he shook it off and followed.

Following Shin's advice, Sena came in from the left while Shin came from the right. Startled, they lost control of the motorcycle and would've crashed had Shin's quick reactions not pulled them back in time. The money flew out of their hands, headed for the river. But was saved by Monta's catching skills.

Sena smiled, relief flooding through her system. "We did it!"

The three walked off from the site as the police came and apprehended the thieves.

Sena bowed to Shin, "Thank you so much!"

Monta followed her lead, "So much!"

"…" Shin gave her another one of his piercing stares. "So you found yourself a receiver? Come to the fall tournament completely prepared. Ojo will be twice as strong in the fall. I'll be waiting for you at the finals."

 

~*~

 

The two of them were heading back to the club house, having bought what they needed.

"I'll be waiting for you at the finals." Monta tried to imitate Shin, failing but making Sena laugh at the same time. "He sounded way cooler than that." Monta laughed and raised an eyebrow at her. "Then why don't you try?"

"Uh… " Sena bit her lip. "… I-I'll be waiting for you at the finals." Monta laughed loudly as Sena's voice stuttered trying to sound like Shin.

"Huh? Somebody's here?" Monta peeked into the doorway having reached it first. He backpedaled quickly. "It's Rui Habashira. He's the football captain, and the scariest of the guys from Zokugaku!"

"So the game this weekend between Deimon and Zokugaku is all set… " The two shared a look of shock as they listened to the conversation from inside the clubhouse.

Wearing the Eyeshield uniform Hiruma laughed. "We're gonna rid the earth of all you scum!"

Habashira flexed his fingers, snarling. "Damn you, Eyeshield 21! I'm gonna kill you!"

' _what does he think he's doing. he is going to get me killed_ ' Sena nearly wailed at his words.

Hiruma cackled. "Oh, you think you're going to win?" He taunted Habashira, pointing at him. "Want to bet 5 million yen on it?"

Habashira sneered, the team advisor pushing him out the door. "Yeah, why not? You're just a raggedy bunch that lost to Ojo! I'm the strongest linebacker there is! Shin? He's nothing!" Sena froze at hearing that. She clenched her first. He walked out shoving past Sena. "Step aside, pipsqueak."

Without another thought, Sena ran in front of the departing duo startling them both.

"Shin is the strongest! The Devil Bats will meet him at the finals. And we won't lose against anyone else!" Sena stared straight into Habashira's eyes holding firm her resolve.

 

~*~

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **a/n:**  
>  Inspiration hit me in the form of other people's stories. I gotta say reading them had helped clear my head for this. One in particular that I may have borrowed a few lines from, only because it is just that good. As such I really think anyone who is reading my story should go read it.


	4. Intimidation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ' _thoughts_ '/ " **Sena's male voice** "  
> *sound effects*  
> [ _ANNOUNCER_ / _P.A. System_ ]  
> ~ **Time Skip/Scene Change** ~

         

~*~

         

He merely sneered at down at her, placing a hand roughly on her head and tried to push her down. "Did you say something? Wanna say it again?"

Sena pushed back against the pressure, then took a deep breath. She couldn't let him get away with defaming either team like that. With that thought swirling through her mind, she spoke, "We won't lose against anyone!"

"Oh, and who's going to beat my team? You?" he mocked.

"Eyeshield 21!"Once again Sena looked him straight in the eye not backing down.

         

~ **The Next Day** ~

         

*music flows from the school's PA system*

[ _IT'S THE LUNCHTIME MUSIC HOUR. THE DJ IS NOW TAKING REQUESTS._ ]

"Wow… I was scared yesterday! You really showed some guts!" Pride filling Monta's voice as they carried the team's lunch to the clubhouse.

"If you say so," Sena tried not to think about it.

[ _JUST PUT YOUR REQUESTS IN THE BOX OUTSIDE THE BROADCAST ROOM_ … ]

*click*

[ _' **YA-HA!**_

IMPORTANT NEWSFLASH!

THIS SATURDAY IN THE SCHOOLYARD THERE'S GONNA BE A FOOTBALL GAME!

OUR OPPONENT WILL BE THE ZOKUGAKU CHAMELEONS. THERE'S FIVE MILLION YEN RIDING ON THE GAME!

THOSE GUYS FROM ZOKUGAKU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN NOTHING BUT TROUBLE FOR US! BUT THE DEVIL BATS ARE GONNA BEAT THEM TO A PULP!

AND OF COURSE OUR HERO, EYESHIELD 21… WILL BE THERE WITH HIS MURDEROUS TACKLE!

 _FREE ADMISSION! BE THERE OR BE A WUSS!!_ ]

Dread seemed to wash over them both. "N-now we're gonna have to win… "

' _i need to get that puppy a muzzle_ '

         

 **~*~**

         

"The Zokugaku Chameleons have suddenly become a team to contend with," Habashira and his team appear on the screen in the clubhouse as Mamori reads aloud from the sports magazine. "His distinguishing feature is his incredibly long arms. His reach extends to catch anything that moves. Not even Seijuro Shin can match Habashira in the ability."

Monta leaned on the table thinking then asking, "But aren't we in the middle of the spring tournament right now? If they play us doesn't that mean that they've lost early on?"

"Well… Not exactly." Picking up the remote and pressing play Mamori cast a worried glance to the screen, "Look at this video."

On screen Habashira starts yelling at the referee then hits him.

"They were disqualified for the spring season because of this." Mamori focused on the magazine ignoring the sounds of fighting coming from the screen. "It says, ' _In the fall tournament, all eyes will be on this dark horse_."

Watching the fight escalate, Kurita nervously commented, "Th-they're lucky all they got was a disqualification."

Both Monta and Sena shivered at the sight before them. "This guy is kinda scary… They say that he always carries a butterfly knife with him."

"Yo! Time for practice!" Hiruma heads out the door in full gear carrying a fully automatic rifle.

"And someone **here** always carries a gun, right?"

         

 **~*~**

         

The five members of the football team sorted through the equipment room, picking out what was necessary for practice.

"We _can_ beat them, can't we?" Looking over her shoulder to Hiruma, "You wouldn't have bet on us if we couldn't win, right?"

Hiruma's smug smile was all Sena got in answer before addressing the whole team, "This time Eyeshield will be the decoy. He'll get worked up… " bringing to mind his actions with Habashira, "And they'll try to stop his run. But now we've got… " picking up a ball and chucking it, "A passing game!"

Monta caught the ball with ease.

"Finally, we can pass…!" Kurita shouting in joy, "It's like we're a real football team!"

Lifting up a large wooden panel Kurita looked to Hiruma, "Should I put 'The Rice Man' out?"

"No, we don't need him anymore, do we?"

" _'The Rice Man'_?" Sena, Monta and Mamori questioned in unison.

Placing him down, Kurita explained, "Oh, him. We made him when it was just the two of us. Hiruma didn't have anyone to practice passing to so that left me to try. My position doesn't receive passes so I wasn't very good at it. We decided to build a catching partner. We named him Jerry Rice."

         

~*~

         

As the other finished bringing out the equipment, Hiruma tied the rice man to hang from the goal post.

"Now that we have a receiver we don't need the rice man any more…," catching everyone's attention, "It's time for his end!"

Without hesitation Hiruma shot the rice man repeatedly, smiling non stop as the others ducked for cover.

"…there's no doubt that since you joined the team, Monta… "

"I'm Raimon."

"Hiruma is very happy. Hiruma wants to throw the ball, you know. He practices all the time and he's actually quite good. Until now he's never had the chance to make use of his skills. But… " Looking over to Monta beaming, "For the first time we've got a receiver."

Monta looked at Sena pointing at himself. She just smiled and nodded.

*CRASH*

"FUNURGHBAH!"

Kurita tackled the rice man breaking him in half.

"Not you too, Kurita!?" Mamori shouted in shock.

"You guys join in too!"

"Don't get these kids mixed up in that!" She shouting at Hiruma this time.

Casting nervous glance to Mamori, Sena turned toward Monta a smile curling her lips, "Mamori is going to be mad… So later we'd better say we're sorry about this." Monta beamed in response.

The two picked up one of the many weapons from Hiruma's bag, and fired a bazooka at the barely still hanging rice man.

"SENA!! I can't believe you."

Sena's stomach began to feel fluttery again as Hiruma gave her a smile at what she and Monta had done. A laugh escaped from her lips at the feeling.

The laughter seemed to spread through the team as they continued to destroy what was left fell to the ground.

*BOOM*

"WHOOOAA!!" Shouting in unison, Sena and Monta jumped back as the flamethrower Mamori used set fire to the rice man's remains and part of the field.

The three of them plus Kurita rushed to get water to put it out. Hiruma turned to address the crowd of students gathering to see what happened.

"WE'RE GONNA DESTROY ZOKUGAKU!!" Shooting into the air. "COME SEE THE CARNAGE!"

The students started cheering.

"Be sure to win!"

"Go for it!!"

"Nobody makes fools of Deimon!"

All the while Hiruma threw firecrackers into the blaze to make it flare more.

The sight of Hiruma laughing before the flames brought back the fluttering feeling tenfold.

Realization of what that feeling meant clicked in Sena's mind. ' _oh, god_ '

         

 **~April 30th - Game Day~**

         

A giant poster hanging from the side of the school building depicting the image of Eyeshield 21 giving Habashira the middle finger. The caption reading:

TODAY'S BATTLE

Zokugaku Chameleons VS Deimon Devil Bats

FIVE MILLION YEN ON THE LINE!!!

Monta stood in shock at the sight of it.

Sena hung her head. ' _i can't believe him sometimes. does he want me to die?_ '

"Tsk! He acts big… " Turning Sena saw the three boys that had bullied her the first day school standing right behind them. Jumonji looked down away from the poster to spot Sena looking at them cautiously. She didn't quite know how to react when all three turn and ran away from her.

' _what just happened?_ '

         

~ **GAME SUMMARY** ~

         

The students of Deimon cheer as the Devil Bats walk to the field.

"Hey, Eyeshield's here!"

"Where is he?"

"WOW!"

"Beat Zokugaku!"

"Bring on the Murder-tackle!"

One of the Zokugaku students in the crowd threw a can at Eyeshield, only to have it snatched by the player wearing the number 80.

Hiruma and Kurita split from the team, each bringing back more players.

[ _IN JUST A MOMENT, WE'LL HAVE THE KICKOFF FOR THE DEIMON DEVIL BATS VS. THE ZOKUGAKU CHAMELEONS._ ]

Habashira kicked the ball to start the game but it bounced all over the place with Deimon's players unable to catch it. The Chameleons rushed forward just as number 80 swiped the ball mid-air.

As the opposing players reached for him, he tossed the ball to Eyeshield 21. Only the ball went in the complete opposite direction, hitting a man on the sidelines.

Murmurs among the crowd wondered at player number 80.

Pamphlets were handed out by the manager listing key players, meaning for the end zones and basic plays.

The Chameleons set up their line to defend against Eyeshield's run.

Hiruma threw the ball perfectly, going so fast not even Habashira's long arms reached it.

Once again Monta leapt to catch the ball, making a mad dash for the end zone when he landed.

[ _A 35-YARD GAIN!_ ]

The crowd was shocked.

"AWESOME!"

"What just happened!?"

"That was a great catch!"

Again the Chameleons defended for Eyeshield's run. That time Hiruma faked the pass off and aimed for the wide open space at the goal posts. And once again Monta leapt and caught the ball.

[ _TOUCHDOWN!!_ ]

Monta rolled as he landed, he came out of it on one knee, pointing to the sky.

The crowd went wild for him.

"Go, Monta!"

"MON! MON!"

"MONKEY!"

He screamed back at the crowds, "The name's RAIMON!!"

He turned and high-fived Eyeshield, got spun around by a singing Kurita, and then kicked in the backside by a silent Hiruma.

[ _HERE'S THE KICK!_ ]

Going for the extra-point conversion Hiruma kicked as hard as possible. It crashed into the man that got hit with the ball before.

Chameleons' ball, they go for a pass and score.

[ _TOUCHDOWN!_ ]

The Chameleons were able to score the extra-point with a kick.

Changing their formation, the Chameleons had both Eyeshield and Monta covered. But in doing so allowed Kurita to break through their line, which in turn made Hiruma's trick play to Ishimaru all the easier.

[ _IT'S ISHIMARU! HE'S BREAKING THROUGH THE MIDDLE!! A 10-YARD GAIN!_ ]

Again and again Hiruma faked passing the ball to Eyeshield enabling them to score two more touchdowns and an extra-point conversion. Habashira started threatening Eyeshield about the ball.

The Chameleons scored their own touchdown and kick for the extra-point.

Putting the score Deimon 20, Zokugaku 14 at the second quarter.

The Chameleons' players became more violent after the start of the second half. Taking down as many of the Devil Bats' players as possible.

The three injured players, numbered 88, 74 and 75, were replaced by numbers 51, 52 and 53. They were able to handle the less than fair play of the opposing line. Allowing Eyeshield to pass through with the ball.

Without hesitation, Eyeshield passed Habashira with ease, skidding to a stop in the end zone.

[ _TOUCHDOWN!_ ]

"YEAH!!!"

Nearly everyone in the audience went wild with cheering.

Both Eyeshield and Monta scoring touchdowns.

The Chameleons focused all their efforts into stopping Eyeshield, making it easier for Hiruma to pass to Monta.

As he made another catch mid-air, the cheers of his baseball team rang out.

"GO, RAIMON!"

"RAIMON!"

"RAIMON!"

The line had started falling apart around the three that came in halfway. As such the three let the Chameleons linemen through moving over for a two-on-one for a screen pass to Eyeshield 21.

Habashira was all that was left between Eyeshield and the end zone.

Using a spin move Eyeshield passed with graceful movement.

[ _TOUCHDOWN!! GAME OVER!!_ ]

Deimon Devil Bats 46, Zokugaku Chameleons 28

         

~ **GAME SUMMARY** ~

         

With the crowd roaring, the team tossed both Eyeshield and Monta into the air in celebration.

"Hey, you guys." Walking up to the Zokugaku team, Hiruma held out his hand with a smile, "The Five Million!"

"WHAT!?" Habashira responded by pulling out his butterfly knife.

*SCHWING!*

Hiruma was holding three automatic rifles, a machine gun, grenades and his favorite hand gun with a sinister smile on his face.

"We can't…" Habashira stuttered at the sight of all the weapons, "We can't really pay you that much, you idiot!"

The weaponry seemed to disappear into thin air as Hiruma turned away. "I could sell these bikes…" twirling a wrench in hand, "I bet I could break 'em up into little pieces and get good money for the parts."

The entire Zokugaku team got on their knees and bowed their heads to the floor, "Please leave our bikes alone."

"Well then, you'll be my slaves in the meantime." Hiruma's shadow seemed to have horns and a tail as he spoke.

' _so this is how he gets people to be his slaves, huh. he's kinda cute when he's being scary_ '

         

~ **the next day right after school** ~

         

While waiting in line Sena reread the team's flier.

         

EMERGENCY RECRUITMENT MEETING

Monday After School 3:30 p.m.

Delicious Tea and Cake will be served!!

         

"So by 'Tea and Cake,' you meant cream puffs from Kariya? Pretty fancy… "

"How many do you think we ought to buy?" Monta asked Kurita as he checked the money only to realize the lineman had fallen asleep standing in line at the bakery.

Sena couldn't help but chuckle, "He said he couldn't sleep at all because he was so excited about today."

As they reached the front Monta and Sena wondered how many to get. Waking up, Kurita shouted, "A HUNDRED CREAM PUFFS!!"

         

~*~

         

As the trio walked back to Deimon carrying boxes, one of Sena's almost slipped. Shifting the weight in her arms to keep it from falling only made it smack into her face. Monta didn't even try to hide his snicker when he looked over, "At least there are three of us."

Kurita beamed as he carried most of the boxes. "You two are a big help. Last year it was tough all by myself. When it was just Hiruma and me." He thought back as he told them what had happened last year, his voice going sad at the memories. "We passed out fliers and held a recruitment meeting. At first I was going to get 50 cream puffs, but thought ' _what if that isn't enough?_ ' So that’s why I asked for 100. It's better to have too many than too few. But no one showed. Hopefully there will be lots of people after our game against Zokugaku."

The three walked in silence the rest of the way back. Once they arrived they help Mamori finish setting up.

The roulette table held the cream puffs while the game table was set up for an interview. A sheet of paper with the team's name and position was taped to the front.

         

KURITA:

CENTER

         

MONTA:

WIDE RECEIVER

         

SENA:

MANAGER

         

MAMORI:

MANAGER

         

After a few minutes Kurita started to doze in his seat. Sena looked over thinking aloud, "It'd be great if a lot of people came."

Monta turned to Sena to answer excitedly. "Yeah!"

Checking to see that it was only 3:15, Sena let her mind wander to a certain subject she'd been mulling over for the past week.

' _why him, why not someone normal? or sane? why him?_ ' Sena rested her head on her arms to hide her face as she tried to reason with herself. ' _i mean, yeah he is in a way devilishly gorgeous. but he's not the only decent looking guy around. jumonji is kinda hot in that bad boy way. sakuraba is nice and a model even. and shin is intense in a good way. quite a few of ojo's players are attractive. so why him?_ ' Sighing, Sena slumped further onto the table. ' _i guess it's like what auntie mei told me, sometimes there is no reason. the heart wants what it wants. stop fighting it and just feel_ '

Feeling as if a pressure had been lifted from her chest, Sena took a breath and relaxed into her arms.

*rattle*

At the sound of the door opening, Sena looked up see Mamori smiling in the doorway. Behind her were several students all talking excitedly. "I think we're going to need some chairs out here."

         

~ **4:55 PM** ~

         

Sena and Monta watched on in dread as Hiruma squirted wasabi paste into Kurita's nostrils to wake him.

"YEOUCH…!!"

"How long were you planning to sleep, you damn fatty?!" Hiruma demanded as Kurita tried to breathe. Sena noticed Kurita look to the clock then become sad as she and Monta filled more cups. "You could do a little work too…"

"Work?" Kurita glanced at Sena and Monta carrying trays, then rushed to the door.

*rattle*

Several students stood outside drinking tea and eating creampuffs. Here and there were girls in the crowd as well. While serving cream puffs, Mamori spoke over the crowd, "We're going to set up interviews by position. Please go in when you hear your number called."

"They couldn't all fit inside so we had to make them wait out here." Hiruma smirked then turned and pointed his rifle at Sena and Monta, "Hey, you're not sneaking any cream puffs, are you?"

Sena looked at the snack in her hand then to the others. Monta was trying to shrink and scurry away at the same time. Kurita was still in awe at the amount of people that showed up.

"It's not sneaking if you see me do it." Looking Hiruma right in the eyes, Sena smiled and bit into the cream puff.

"Call in the first person!" Kurita could barely hold in his excitement as the others got ready.

"Sena, good luck leading the interviews," Mamori said as she sat down at the table. "This is your big chance as manager."

' _that's the first i heard of that_ '

"Well, we should start with asking which position each person wants to play. Right?" Sena said as she looked to Hiruma and Kurita.

"We should be able to figure it out ourselves." Hiruma said as he leaned back, sitting on the counter.

Kurita pitched in, "The first major distinction we should make is… are they more suited to offense or defense?"

Sena and Monta looked to Hiruma, "How do you tell the difference?"

"By the way they make their entrance," smirking, Hiruma described that an offensive player would be precise and sit straight where as a defensive player would just barge in and fall into the seat.

"So if that's the case… I guess I'm offense and Monta is probably defense."

"Yeah, but really it's no more than just a general rule."

*knock*

*knock*

"Hey, here's the first guy." Monta said as someone opened the door.

*RATTLE*

"E-EXCUSE ME!" The young quickly closed the door then sat facing forward tense in four moves.

The four team players all said the same thing, "Offense"

"Uh-umm…" Clearing his throat, the balding student spoke, "My name is Manabu Yukimitsu, second year, homeroom four."

"Second year?" Hiruma sat up asking.

"Is it really a problem that I'm a second-year student?" Yukimitsu asked nervously.

"There wouldn't be any good second-years le…" Hiruma was cut off and pushed back by Kurita before he could finish.

"Don't worry about it!" Kurita said smiling.

"What made you want to join the football team?" Sena asked before Mamori decided she needed help. She looked like she was going to start suggesting questions.

"…" Yukimitsu looked down at his lap before answering, "Ever since first grade… all I've ever done is go to cram school. I was never allowed to do any activities…" looking up into the team's faces, Yukimitsu's voice became more solid. "When I start third year, I'll have to take the exams… So for a final memory…"

"Did you say 'memory'?" Hiruma snarled, "We're here to win, you damn baldy!"

' _i bet he's been wanting to say that since yukimitsu came in_ '

Getting over his shock, Yukimitsu responded forcefully, "Of course. I intend to play to win! For whatever it's worth, I'll do the best that I can!" Bowing his head, "I'm not very well built… but when I see the little guy from Notre Dame become Eyeshield, the Hero… it warms my heart," hearing these words makes Sena feel like a fake, "He fearlessly confronts whatever difficulty he faces. I want to do my best to follow his example…"

"Well… you shouldn't overestimate Eyeshield 21. He is _just_ one player. No one player would stand a chance without the rest of their team."

Yukimitsu nodded his head in understanding. Football is a team sport. Individual skills were a necessity but all the players were needed to be a team.

Yukimitsu gave a final bow after he exited the door.

Sena took a bite of her cream puff as Mamori called in the next one.

*WOOSH*

Sena barely had time to swallow as the next student came rushing in, slamming the door off it's hinges, as he skidded to a stop lying flat on the floor.

"Wh-what…? Who's this??" Kurita leaned over the table to better see the boy on the floor.

"How would I know? One things for sure. this guy is…"

"Defense" the four players spoke in unison again.

As Mamori kneeled down to help him, he halfway got up on his arms. "First year, homeroom one! Komusubi… My name is Daikichi Komusubi!" His head snapped toward Kurita, "A-apprentice!"

Neither Monta or Sena knew what to make of his words.

"Please…" Komusubi's head bowed, body shaking lightly, "An apprentice!!"

"Maybe…" Mamori said catching on first as she fixed the door back in place, "He means he wants to be Kurita's apprentice?"

The boy on the floor nodded.

"Huh? You mean you want to be a lineman??" Komusubi just nodded more vigorously. "YAY! I've got a buddy on the line! Let's go for it!" Kurita was beyond happy.

Komusubi just kneeled there in shock for a moment, then smiling wide with tears in his eyes before running out the door.

"UUNNNFFFPHHH!!"

*crash*

"Heh heh heh," Hiruma laughed as Sena and Monta helped Mamori straighten up the room, "He's the perfect type for the defensive line."

"Is that right?" Monta responded as he was still flustered by Komusubi's sudden exit.

Sitting down, Sena pulled over some paper and a pen, "What else should I take notes on, besides the positions?"

"How about if you put together everyone’s answers?" Mamori asked as she stood the chair back up. "It could be useful for publicity."

On the blank page Sena wrote down a survey,

Eyeshield fan

Thinks #80's catches are cool

Fascinated by linemen's strength

Quarterback's passes are awesome

The Huh Brothers

Marking the first and third line, the interviews continued without much disturbance.

Most of the students wanting to meet Eyeshield, or be seen on TV. All the female students that showed up merely wanted to see Eyeshield's face, though a few asked if he was seeing anyone. Sena went pale at first then had to fight the urge to run and hide while Hiruma tended to laugh to himself after they left. She never marked any of the girls' answers in the survey.

After awhile Monta started getting upset, trying to show off his catching ability by releasing the ball and snatching.

"Um…" Sena leaned away from Monta and his antics, "What made you want to join the football team?"

"Those passes are really cool." Monta perked up at that, holding the ball above his head. "When he throws it. So crisp!"

*boing*

The ball fell on Monta's head at his answers. The student was just about to leave when Monta looked at the survey.

Over 15 for Eyeshield, 3 for Kurita, 1 for Hiruma and 0 for Monta.

Monta seemed to be going into shock, so Sena tried to reassure him, "Well, look, you weren't in the Ojo game broadcast so they haven't gotten to see you really play. Next game you're gonna be all they talk about."

"All right… I'm gonna make sure I'm an ace before the next broadcast. Down with Eyeshield!" startling Sena slightly, Monta smiled. "You and I are buddies, but in the game we're rivals!"

Monta's words bringing back memories of the day before the Zokugaku game, when he found out Sena was Eyeshield 21. How he had known right away that it was Sena suited up wearing the jersey and helmet with tinted eyeshield. It still kind of scared her to think of Monta's reaction when he realized that she was Eyeshield, it had taken Kurita to separate them. It wasn't until they had sat down and explained to him what really happened did Monta seem to understand that it was Hiruma that was the one being interviewed on the broadcast.

Sena had apologized for tricking him, she was just afraid he would quit if she told him the truth. Monta had forgiven her, football was his sport now and they were his team. He had also promised not to tell Mamori anything. The thought of Mamori's reaction had sent chills down their spines.

Sena watched as the next student walked in. Slouching in the chair, he introduced himself, "I'm Miyake, first year, homeroom one."

"Well, I have to say… I'm pretty good at sports, and I'm already playing on a few teams. Since you don't have that many players I thought I might play here too."

The guy's charm and words seemed unsettling for both Sena and Monta. He actions were almost familiar to Sena.

"Hiruma, I really respect you. You've got a lot of team money and underlings. I thought maybe there could be something left over for me."

' _that jerk just wants money. oh god, that's it. he's like agon when he wants something from a girl, all charming_ '

Hiruma silently typed away on his laptop completely ignoring the guy through out the interview.

         

~*~

         

Finally after the last student left, the whole team stayed and helped clean as Hiruma continued to type.

"The Huh brothers didn't show up. Do you think they had enough after the Zokugaku game?" Kurita asked Hiruma nervously.

"We don't need guys like that - even if they joined, they'd just quit soon anyway."

"With everyone who came today, it'd be great if they all stayed with the team." Mamori said as she swept the floor.

"Oh, I'd hate if our new players ended up quitting!" Kurita sounding upset just at the thought. Sena and Monta agreed.

' _i hope there's some real players in the bunch, it would be great to have more regular players. but i doubt any of them would last very long with hiruma unless they were really interested in the game_ ' Sena looked over to the others thinking the day over. Seeing Hiruma look so calm and serious caused Sena's heart to flicker. ' _even in deep thought he's kinda hot_ '

*click*

The sound of Hiruma's laptop closing was audible.

"We'll have a team try-out."

         

 **~*~**

         

~ **TEAM TRY-OUT SUMMARY** ~

         

The Tower of Hell would be the best way to test who would join the team.

Many of the those trying out asked if that meant running up the stairs to the roof of the school.

They were sadly wrong. The Tower of Hell was actually Tokyo Tower.

The goal was to carry ice to the Special Observatory at the top. They were allowed to retrieve more ice if it melted. So long as a single ice cube was left when they reached the top, they made the cut.

Sugar had been added to ensure it melted quicker.

As expected, Eyeshield and Monta were way ahead of the rest.

Of course, the devil of Deimon would never make it easy. As the two reached the halfway point, they came across the first challenge. Cerberus was napping in front of the door to the Grand Observatory.

The smell of the sugar in the ice lured the beast from his slumber.

Without hesitation, Eyeshield tossed some of his ice behind himself, clearing the path to the door.

Once free, the two headed for the door. Only once opening it, all their ice melted. The entire room was hazy from the dozens of heaters going full blast. They were forced to go back and get more.

Somehow the Huh Brothers had also joined in the try-out, despite not wanting to join. After bumping into Komusubi while getting ice, the three became determined to beat the shorter first year.

Those that made it through the Grand Observatory then had to climb a stairwell that was placed next to an open elevator shaft.

Hiruma shot the bags of ice from his place atop the eleveator as it passed. The false bullets were filled with powder, dessicant from seaweed tins. Mixing with the water, the powder began to make the bag hot and melt the ice faster. Forcing some to return to the bottom. Though Hiruma only shot the bags of those that were mistreating or taking advantage of the others.

Though Monta _was_ the first to reach the top, his last cube melted as he entered dramatically. So Eyeshield 21 was the first to make the cut. Within minutes Monta had raced down, grabbed ice, and made it back to receive his snow cone.

Many got sick as they tried to make the cut, but one by one students began to drop out. None of them willing to put real effort into joining.

Komusubi was the next to reach the top, followed by the Huh Brothers. The four glaring at each other.

Another two hours and Mamori joined them at the Special Observatory saying there was no one left. Just as the team was about to pack up, the balding second year, Yukimitsu, collapsed through the doorway.

As Mamori went to help him, Sena watched as Hiruma plucked an ice cube and tossed it into the bucket where Kurita was empting Yukimitsu's bag.

The Devil Bats had another player.

 

~ **TEAM TRY-OUT SUMMARY** ~

         

 **~*~**

         

Sena didn't think to hard on why it felt so nice to have Hiruma walk her home again. They were close enough for her shoulder to brush his arm with each step, though neither minded.

From day one he'd walked as close to her as possible without hindering either's steps. Hiruma's longer strides shortening while Sena's quickened to an even pace both were comfortable with.

They walk in comfortable silence all the way to her house. He'd call out 'Night Kitten' as she made her way to the front door. As she stepped inside, she'd turn and wave at him leaning on the gate.

Not twenty minutes later she got a call from Mamori about the phone tree. Another five and the fax came through.

         　

DEIMON DEVIL BATS

TELEPHONE TREE

        

MAMORI ANEZAKI

|

\/

DAIKICHI KOMUSUBI

|

\/

RYOKAN KURITA

|

\/

SHOZO TOGANO

|

\/

TARO RAIMON

|

\/

KAZUKI JUMONJI

|

\/

KOJI KUROKI

|

\/

YOICHI HIRUMA

|

\/

SENA KOBAYAKAWA

|

\/

MANABU YUKIMITSU

　

' _of course i'm the one that demonic puppy calls_ '

 

 **~*~**

 

"SENA! TIME FOR MORNING PRACTICE!"

Sena startled at the sound of her friend yelling. She rushed to get ready and out the door.

"We have a doorbell," she offered in greeting.

"I was trying not to disturb anyone so early in the morning," Monta gave a thumbs up as she passed through the gate.

"Don't you think it's disturbing to shout?"

' _especially this early_ '

"Is it?" Monta thought about it as they walked down the street to morning practice. "Yeah, you might be right."

Once they reached the club, they immediately changed and joined in practice. It wasn't until the team was in the middle of a lap along the running route that Mamori commented on the three missing players.

' _of course the puppy had me call them_ '

Their response was expected, though the reaction to the word 'Photos' was interesting.

Once they all returned, the team divided to do separate training. The line tackling each other and then weights, whereas Eyeshield, Monta and Yukimitsu did timed running and handling the ball.

         

 **~*~**

         

Once practice ended everyone changed back into their uniforms and met up in the clubhouse, catching part of Hiruma and Kurita's conversation.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of which, that reminds me...," Kurita pulled on his jacket. "Could the Spring Season Regional Tournament be going on today?"

"The Kanagawa Tournament just ended and... Well, it goes without saying who won."

"Let me guess, the Shinryuji Nagas?"

Hiruma raised a brow at Sena's comment. He still couldn't interrupt her phone calls with Agon.

' _thankfully i was able to convince him not to call during practice anymore_ '

"So..." Hiruma gave her one last look before returning to his laptop. "The Tokyo Tournament... Hey! The finals are going on right now!"

Sena and Monta leaned over to see the screen.

"It's Ojo!" Sena wasn't surprised at all. "They're playing... Seibu?? Wasn't that team just added this year?" She couldn't remember mention of the team from the previous year.

"The finals? I'd like to see that," Monta commented.

"Aren't they going to broadcast it? Like before?"

"Why don't we take the new guys to see their first game?" Hiruma offered as he climbed off the counter and ignored Sena's questions.

"Great idea! None of them have really seen two decent teams play before."

Everyone listened as Hiruma asked for five taxis as he walked through the door.

The taxis turned out to be Habashira and four of his team on motorcycles.

They rode three to a bike, except Kurita. Because of his size and weight, the lineman rode with just the bike's owner. Komusubi was between the driver and Mamori, much to the chagrin of Monta. Who was sitting behind Yukimitsu. Jumonji drove one of the bikes himself. Kuroki basically standing at his back while Togano faced backward and read manga. Sena was between Habashira and Hiruma.

The moment Mamori had looked away to climb onto the motorcycle, Hiruma had pulled Sena on to the bike facing him. She'd had no choice but to wrap her limbs around him as Habashira started to drive away. She spent the entire ride pressed against him trying not to think about anything.

' _of course the damn puppy is sitting sideways on the bike. i try to put any space between us and i'll fall off_ '

         

**~*~**

         

~ **Eiko Municipal Field** ~

Thankfully Mamori had been too busy keeping Komusubi from falling to notice how Hiruma had positioned Sena in his lap.

"WILD WILD GUNMEN!"

*BANG BANG!*

The scream of the cheerleaders and the bang of the blast caps drowned out most noise.

"This is the halftime show?" Sena asked a bit shocked at the act the girls were pulling off.

"It's quite a spectacle..." Monta's voice was a little in awe.

"Well, well...," a player in a rocking chair adjusted his cowboy hat as he spoke, "Do they give up? It's 20-7 after the first half."

Sena looked to the score board they stood next as the others said something. The score was 20-7. With Seibu Wild Gunmen 13 points more than the Ojo White Knights.

The gasped "It's 20-7 and Ojo is LOSING!" behind her alerted Sena to the fact the rest of her team noticed the score board as well.

"Twenty points against Ojo..." The player lifted his hat to look at them, "It's too good to be true. Usually something bad happens after such a good day."

"Tetsuma," the player grabbed a plastic drink bottle called out to a teammate. "Slant!" He tossed it to the side.

Without hesitation, another player ran straight forward then shifted to an angle before he collided with Sena and grabbed the bottle from the air.

"That's right," the sitting player removed his hat and looked to the other player. "Too good to be true."

         

 **~*~**

         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **a/n:** please don't hate me for taking so long to do this. found my book, lost it. found it again and lost it again. pretty sure it accidentally got shipped to my cousin in vegas. though i hope not

**Author's Note:**

>  **a/n:**  
>  I'm sorry if the story seems very random, the unexpected will be explained later on. I'm trying to keep the talking similar to the manga, but most of Sena's thoughts and reactions are all mine.  
> Mei and Shuma Kobayakawa are Sena's aunt and uncle, her mom was the middle sibling. She passed away when Sena was little, so Shuma and his wife Mihae took her in and claimed her as their own.  
>  **(1)** Sena was 6 when she got this. There was an accident when Sena was 5, her mother had saved her life. They had been hit by a truck. Sena's mom had died from a pierced lung. For Sena's six birthday, Mei took her to get a tattoo in remembrance of her mother. Originally Mihae wanted Sena to get a skin graft(can't remember if that's what it's called) to remove the image of the scar, but Sena wanted to keep it as a reminder of her mother's love. The tattoo was a compromise, Sena got a physical mark in memory of her mom while also covering the uneven scar tissue.  
>  More about Sena's past will be revealed as the story progresses.


End file.
